Marketing Articles Found Since Yesterday
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The following articles were found at: Marketing Articles Found Since Yesterday. |
96 items found:
- Mom Turns Passion For Fitness Into A Business.
Knoxville News Sentinel:
Ironically, when friends complimented Carlene Steenekamp about how good she looked after the birth of her last child in 2007, their words had an opposite effect. “I got so tired of hearing, ‘Oh, you look great to have had three kids.’ I know friends meant well, but that was a backhanded compliment,” says [...]
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Is It Time To Practice a Little Selfish Networking.
Is It Time To Practice a Little Selfish Networking
Is It Time To Practice a Little Selfish NetworkingThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing This post is a special Make a Referral Week guest post featuring education on the subject of referrals and word of mouth marketing and making 1000 referrals to 1000 small businesses – check it out at Make a Referral Week 2010 You know [...] (03/12/10 09:00 AM)
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing - Make a Referral Week Giveaway.
Make a Referral Week Giveaway
ShareMake a Referral Week GiveawayThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Like it or not tax time is upon most small business folks. So, it seems like a good time to give away copies of Intuit’s Turbo Tax Business Software don’t you think. As an element of Make a Referral Week I’m going to draw 15 names [...] (03/12/10 09:00 AM)
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing - Ring-Ring: This is WOM calling: Are You Listening?.
Ring-Ring: This is WOM calling: Are You Listening?
Ring-Ring: This is WOM calling: Are You Listening?This content from: Duct Tape Marketing This post is a special Make a Referral Week guest post featuring education on the subject of referrals and word of mouth marketing and making 1000 referrals to 1000 small businesses – check it out at Make a Referral Week 2010 Women control more [...] (03/12/10 09:00 AM)
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing - How to Build Referrals and Become a Nationally Known Speaker.
How to Build Referrals and Become a Nationally Known Speaker
How to Build Referrals and Become a Nationally Known SpeakerThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing This post is a special Make a Referral Week guest post featuring education on the subject of referrals and word of mouth marketing and making 1000 referrals to 1000 small businesses – check it out at Make a Referral Week 2010 Have [...] (03/12/10 09:00 AM)
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing - 6 Ways to be More Referable than Edward Scissorhands at a Lawn & Garden Convention.
6 Ways to be More Referable than Edward Scissorhands at a Lawn & Garden Convention
6 Ways to be More Referable than Edward Scissorhands at a Lawn & Garden ConventionThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing This post is a special Make a Referral Week guest post featuring education on the subject of referrals and word of mouth marketing and making 1000 referrals to 1000 small businesses – check it out at [...] (03/12/10 09:00 AM)
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing - How to Boost Your Customer Referrals in 7 Simple Steps.
How to Boost Your Customer Referrals in 7 Simple Steps
How to Boost Your Customer Referrals in 7 Simple StepsThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing This post is a special Make a Referral Week guest post featuring education on the subject of referrals and word of mouth marketing and making 1000 referrals to 1000 small businesses – check it out at Make a Referral Week 2010 Customer [...] (03/12/10 09:00 AM)
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing - BART Gets Official Augmented Reality App: "Couldn't Find the Train" Is No Longer a Viable Excuse.
BART, in partnership with San Francisco-based developer Junaio, released its first official augmented reality app--or, more accurately, its first official augmented reality layer.
Augmented reality adds text or graphic overlays onto real objects as seen by a phone's camera, and while it's often of questionable use (like, say, turning your neighborhood blue as an homage to Avatar), it has a lot of potential to help people find specific locations faster and easier than looking at a map. Typically, individual searches will have their own layers--there might be a pizza restaurant layer, or a hotels layer--and Junaio has added a BART layer to its own iPhone app, so you can always find a nearby BART station, along with estimated arrival times (which are impressively accurate).
[youtube MP1VuRIJYd4]
Junaio adds a few features not seen in the leaders in the augmented reality category, like Layar: its best might be the element of interactivity. You can add little notes for friends or whoever wants to see them--take a picture of your favorite coffeeshop, write a quick note ("great service, macchiatos are incredible!"), and post it, so the next time somebody walks out of a nearby BART station and wants coffee, they'll see your note pointing them in the right direction.
Junaio is free, but only available for the iPhone 3GS (not 3G or 2G) at the moment. A version for Android is underway.
[BART]
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Four Apps From the Google Marketplace Worth Installing Right Now.
The launch of the Google Apps Marketplace means GOOG's giving every Web service the same privilege Buzz had: integration with Gmail, Docs, Calendar and the rest of the GApps gang. If you administer a Google Apps account for your business, family, or softball team, there are four applications that are worth installing right now.
What You'll Need
In order to install apps in the Google Apps Marketplace, you'll need to be an administrator on a Google Apps account. Setting up a Google Apps account isn't difficult, but it requires both a domain name and some elbow grease. The Apps Marketplace doesn't work with vanilla Google accounts (your you@gmail.com email address).
To install an app, first find it in the Google Apps Marketplace, then click on the "Add it now" button. Enter the domain name associated with your Google Apps account. Log into your administrator account, and GApps will walk you through a three-step process for getting the new app set up. Once that's done, it will appear in the "More" drop-down at the top of your Gmail, Google Docs, and Calendar accounts, as shown in the screenshot above, for every user on your domain.
Got it? Now, here are four apps worth trying. Click on the title to install them.
Zoho Projects Project Management
The underdog in Web-based office suites, Zoho, makes several products that directly compete with Google Docs--but a few that also fill in GApps' gaping holes. For example, Zoho Projects is a Web-based project manager that's worth taking a look at for your GApps workgroup.
What you get: Access to your Google Docs inside Zoho, and the ability to show project deadlines on your Google Calendar, plus easy account creation for everyone in your Google Apps workgroup. Zoho Projects is free for one project, pricing starts at $12/month.
Alternative: Manymoon is a free alternative with a more social bent, with Twitter-like status updates and similar Google Docs, Calendar, and Contacts integration.
Aviary Design Suite Image and Sound Editor
Aviary is a powerful Web-based image and audio editor that helps you add effects to and tweak images, create logos, business cards, labels, vector graphics as well as edit audio files like podcasts. This is a must-have for anyone who wants to edit images for inclusion in a document or slideshow in Google Docs.
What you get: Aviary for GApps automatically saves the files you create to your Google Docs account, in a folder it creates automatically called "Aviary."
OffiSync Microsoft Office Integration
When you want to work in Microsoft Word on your desktop but save all your files in the cloud for anywhere-access, you need a good syncing tool, like OffiSync. The toolbar for Microsoft Office uploads your work on the desktop to Google Docs or Google Sites every time you save it, seamlessly.
What you get: OffiSync spares you the hassle of manually uploading files to Google Docs every time they change. Unilike the other apps listed here, OffiSync is a Windows download that adds a toolbar to Microsoft Office. Using it, you can set group access permissions to the document, and browse your Google Docs and Google Sites folders to choose where to save your document online, as well as search Google
Alternative: Google's recent acquisiton, DocVerse, offers very similar functionality.
TripIt Travel Plans Sharing and Coordinating
One of the most useful travel planning Webapps out there, TripIt, now lets you see who in your GApps workgroup is going where when. Using TripIt is simple: when you book travel online and get an email of your itinerary from the airline, you forward that email to plans@tripit.com. TripIt automatically parses out your trip's details, and builds an itinerary page with useful information about the weather, local time, directions, online check-in, and travel delays, which you can share with your friends, family, and co-workers.
What you get: With TripIt in Google Apps, you can automatically notify everyone in your company (and only people in your company) of your travel plans, and integrate them into your Google Calendar. You can also see who's traveling where on a company travel map.
The biggest benefit to using these apps in Google Apps boils down to three things: the ability to skip the separate site registration process, automatically sharing information with other users in your domain, and easy hooks to Google Docs, Calendar, and Gmail. While Google Apps users don't get all the services of a vanilla Google account--like Voice, Reader, and Wave--the new Marketplace makes a GApps account a whole lot more desirable for enterprise users.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Today in Most Innovative Companies.
Daily news of note from our most Innovative Companies, including HP, Microsoft, Spotify, and Intel.
HP: The Palo Alto-based computer giant has launched its first corporate advertising campaign in a half-decade, and they've pulled in favors, from Dr. Dre to Annie Leibovitz. The $40 million Let's Do Amazing ad-campaign is aimed at expanding the scope of HP's brand, which is normally associated with printer technology. We recommend the Dre clip, which shows the megastar producer pumping out beats with Rhys Darby, the manager from New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo, Flight of the Conchords. Still, Darby and Dre are no match for Jay-Z, who starred in an HP ad four years ago.
[youtube fsE0g-8CDQo]
Microsoft: Speaking of marketing campaigns, Microsoft has started a contest to find the best viral video for its Office 2010 release. To get a shot at the $10,000 prize, all you have to do submit a short video that creatively shows how Office products have helped your business. Rumor has it that OK Go, fresh from ditching EMI, is working on another rendition of "This Too Shall Pass," this time with ex-Microsoft employee, Clippy.
Spotify: The popular cloud-based music service just updated their catalogue, adding about 300,000 new tracks ready for listening. When is Spotify coming to the U.S. again?
Intel: It's always good for businesses to know their customers, but Intel's latest viral marketing campaign is targeting quite the unexpected demographic: the slovenly and unemployed. In promoting their 2010 Core processor series, Intel is going after "man-taskers," male users that multi-task to the extreme, alt-tabbing between basketball games, more basketball games, and nacho dip, all while their girlfriends presumably are at work. Check out the man-tasker rap below to see what I'm talking about, and head here for Intel's quiz to find out if you have what it takes to be an alpha-male user--the questions have a promising start ("Have you ever put the remote control in the freezer while cooking dinner because you are not able to multi-task?") but then degrade into generic questions ("Do you multi-task?"), which a man-tasker like myself has no time for. So how about it Fast Company readers? Are you man-taskers?
[youtube Ey9d8ShlYVE]
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Microsoft Survey Shows That Utilities Aren't Exactly Embracing the Smart Grid.
Microsoft, which is invested in the Smart Grid with its own Microsoft Hohm energy monitoring app, recently surveyed about 200 utilities to get some insight on how fast smart meters and other Smart Grid developments are being rolled out. The answer? Not even close to as fast as you think or hope.
The survey found that only 8% of the utilities are actively using Smart Grid tech and equipment, only 37% are even working on related projects, and more than half have done exactly nothing. The reasons are actually incredibly complicated, as you might expect from a shakeup of this size in an industry as massive as the energy industry.
The standard explanation from those not affiliated with the utilities is that the change is difficult, expensive, and would result in smarter energy consumers--and thus less revenue from thoughtless energy use for the utilities. So why would the utilities even bother? But utilities see it differently, blaming onerous government regulation and the high level of difficulty involved in adopting the new system. Besides, the utilities claim, they do want to encourage smart meters: they'd eliminate the cost of meter readers and data gathered would better equip the utilities to avoid costly blackouts.
The situation gets even more complicated when you try to examine further, as this New York Times article does with a specific area (New York City), company (Con Ed), and program (an hourly pricing plan in certain large buildings). There, you can see that the problems are widespread, with problems from consumers, utilities, and government. The story involves third party energy services companies (ESCOs) that essentially read the meters and predict prices for landlords, state tax advantages for ESCO contracts, a utility lukewarm on the whole idea in the first place, arcane and possibly corrupt meetings to set energy prices, and sheer laziness on the part of landlords to bother studying an hourly system and adjusting energy use appropriately.
It is, in short, a complete mess. And while there's been much discussion of adopting a smart grid, the survey and the Times article show the truth: it's not happening as fast as we think, and it's going to be a rat's nest to sort out.
[Via VentureBeat]
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Maya Romanoff Celebrates 40 Years of Design History with Tie Dye and Pink Socks.
Maya Romanoff, the man who made tie-dye hip for non-hippies, celebrated four decades of creating drop-dead wall coverings last night at New York's Museum of Arts and Design. Resplendent in pink striped socks and a tie-dyed velvet necktie, Romanoff sat silently in a metallic red wheelchair as his wife, Joyce, the company's president, closed her thank you speech with a quote from Oscar Wilde who, on his deathbed, reportedly said, "Either the wallpaper goes, or I do." "Except if it's from Maya Romanoff," she quickly added. Romanoff, whose speech has been robbed by Parkinson's disease, munched a cashew and looked amused.
In recognition of Romanoff's work, the walls of the museum's seventh floor were hung with 70's era tie-dyed fabric in psychedelic reds, yellows, and oranges. In the corner, two mannequins modeled vintage Woodstock-era dresses that Romanoff had created for upscale hippie-wannabes, who shopped for their Lucy in the Sky wardrobes at such tony shops like I. Magnin and Bergdorf Goodman.
After graduating from Berkeley in the '60s, Romanoff took off with his girlfriend to bum around the globe. In Tunisia, he discovered the ancient art of tie-dye and, once back in the States, the two experimented with the technique, using Rit dye and rubber bands. After selling out their entire supply of T-shirts at a Rolling Stones concert in Miami, they headed for New York.
In Manhattan, they were all the rage, creating a leather vest for The Who's Roger Daltry, and a caftan for supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. An opera coat Romanoff conjured up hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But designer Jack Lenor Larson cautioned Romanoff that fashion was a fickle business and urged him to turn his talents to something a little less volatile. He discovered that there was a business to be had in exotic wall coverings, and soon he was selling to society decorators like Albert Hadley and Sister Parish.
Romanoff, whose given name is Richard, but who long preferred to be called Multifarious Maya, a moniker given him by an Indian guru, soon branched out into wall coverings made of things never before used on vertical surfaces--Capiz shells, glass beads, paulownia wood, and kenaf reed.
David Rockwell has designed wall coverings for Romanoff that resemble stitched leather and embroidered felt. Romanoff's "Bedazzled" pattern, made of tiny glass beads, decorates the new Barbie store in Shanghai. In last year's Kips Bay Showhouse, Romanoff created a three-dimensional floral pattern for the mansion's dramatic staircase. Recently, the company introduced a pattern called Meditations, Nepalese Iokta paper with flecks of mica, handmade in the Himalayas. Although the company manufactures in eight countries, the majority of its work takes place in its factories in Skokie, Illinois, where 60 workers glue mica to paper, or painstakingly build a pattern of Capiz shells like an elaborate puzzle, into rectangles of precious wallpaper.
Long before sustainability was fashionable, Romanoff was committed to preserving the environment. "Maya is cheap," his wife says. "He always wanted us to use every bit of material."
But frugality is only one part of the equation. Romanoff's glues are all water-based, and no toxic chemicals are used in his plants. "The only thing you smell in our factories is food from the microwave," says Joyce.
Before urging guests to go and see a demonstration of the company's techniques taking place in a studio at the museum, Joyce Romanoff had one more message for the assembled group: "Please give generously to Parkinson's research," she says.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- iPad Pre-Orders Begin at 8:30 a.m. EST Tomorrow: Start Practicing Your Speed-Refreshing.
Okay, Apple fanatics, publishing hopefuls, and reckless early adopters: tomorrow is your day. Start warming up your refresh finger (mine's the right middle finger--it's like I'm saying "screw you! Work this time!" with every furious refresh), because Apple's iPad, in both Wi-Fi and 3G configurations, is allowing pre-orders starting tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. EST (5:30 a.m. PST). You can pre-order either online at Apple's site or through any of their individual stores over the phone--if you're seriously pre-ordering this thing, the latter option is probably your best bet to get your new iPhone XXL into your greasy hands as soon as possible. The Wi-Fi version will ship (or be available for pickup) on launch day, April 3rd, while the 3G version won't launch until an undetermined day in "late April." Best of luck to all you crazies!
[Via TUAW]
Image by Jon Marshall.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Barnes & Noble Announces iPad App: Will Apple Really Let It Fly?.
Apple's history of eliminating apps that compete with its own is as old as the App Store itself. So why, exactly, does Barnes & Noble think they can get away with submitting its eReader app for the iPad?
From browsers to music players to email, Apple firmly removes any app that could conceivably compete with its own first-party apps. And with the iPad staking its claim as the ebook reader to beat, Apple is opening up its own iBooks bookstore. Yet Barnes & Noble, makers of the competing Nook and its similarly competing B&N eReader store, announced that they'll be bringing a custom version of the store to the iPad at launch. What?
The B&N eReader app is already available in the App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch, complete with its own micropayment system for buying books, but then, Apple doesn't have its own bookstore for that platform. Why would Barnes & Noble make this announcement, knowing full well that traditional Apple would smack it down immediately in the approval process?
Because Apple might just let it go. The result of Barnes & Noble's app (and Amazon's, for that matter) appearing in the app store would just further serve to place the iPad head and shoulders above the Nook and Kindle in capability. Both B&N and Amazon have huge, rich ebook stores--likely bigger than iBooks will be at launch--and if the iPad has access to them, it takes away one more reason to go with a competitor. It's not the only reason; the Nook's and Kindle's e-ink screen is still easier on the eyes than the iPad's LCD, but it's still one step toward making other ebook readers obsolete. Either way, Apple wins.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Logos Get Lost in the Supermarket, Here's Why.
Have you seen Logorama, the movie comprised entirely of animated logos, that just won the Oscar for best animated short film? It's an excellent representation of the technicolor tapestry of branding that our world has become. Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on your point of view.
[youtube p10UE3O8s24]
But what would the world be like if there were no more brands to differentiate products, inspire us, or give us a good feeling about a company or product we've never tried before? I'm one who thinks it would be bad for brands to meld together into a homogenized mess, and I see that starting to happen in places. At the rate things are going, someday soon all brands will look like Walmart 's Great Value label.
Why is this happening? It's partly because value is in great demand now, with unemployment still in double digits throughout parts of the country. It's also because retailers are putting pressure on manufacturers to differentiate their brands inside their stores, so that a brand doesn't look and act the same in one store chain as it does in another. If brands fold to this pressure, they become diluted and change what they really stand for. This erodes brand equity with consumers and eventually, retailers decide they don't need certain brands anymore and can easily outsource the product cheaper themselves to increase their margins. So now those manufacturers are out, and jobs are lost. And so is the brand.
Walmart 's newly-redesigned Great Value productsPrivate label brands grew at twice the rate of national brands over the last decade, according to a Saatchi & Saatchi X and POPAI study. Retailers like Walmart, Target and Costco are narrowing consumer selections everyday. Walmart recently took out Glad and Hefty storage bags to give more space to their Great Value brand. They then brought Hefty back, once the company agreed to manufacture Great Value bags for Walmart.
That sort of manipulation will continue to happen unless brand managers, strategists, designers and manufacturers stand up to big-box retailers and reinforce the naturally differentiating attributes of their brands. They must build their brands so the retailer depends on them and the manufacturer, like the good old days.
Private label cereal at Publix, in-house branding that's won design awardsOver the last 100 years, brands have played an important role in our society. The danger of private labels taking over the national branding landscape is the loss of meaning and value in the brands we love, prefer and recognize. Not only do our favorite brands help us distinguish product attributes, they inspire and motivate us, and give us a sense of individualism and choice. People who buy computers and products from Apple, for instance, usually believe earnestly in the company's position of thinking and being different.
If price is the only thing we as consumers are driven by, then sure, just make all the brands the same, Big Brother. But understand that what starts at retail can mushroom to other industries. Soon, we could all end up buying gas from one brand of gas station. Bank at one brand of bank. Wear clothes from one clothing company because they're all alike anyway. Reminds me of old photos I've seen. Doesn't it, comrade?
Publix photo by MSLK
Jamey Boiter's Brand Innovatr blogBrowse more Expert Design blogs
Jamey Boiter is a nationally recognized brand strategist and practitioner. As BOLTgroup's brand principal, he oversees all brand innovation and graphic design teams. He has received numerous awards, ADDYs, and citations for his work in brand development, packaging, and corporate identity, including award-winning projects for AirDye, Lowe's, IZOD, Nat Nast, G.H. Bass, Marc Ecko, and Forté Cashmere. Jamey has been involved in strategic brand development and design management programs with world-class brands such as Kobalt Tools, Ryobi, Coca-Cola, Kraft, IZOD, and Phillips-Van Heusen, and has been a featured speaker at national conferences and college campuses on the subject of brand strategy, innovation and development.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Converse Starts a New Business on the Side.
Converse are the lo-fi sneakers that everyone loves--precisely because of their can't change, won't change-ness. And now, with a little help from Takahiro Miyashita, designer of now-extant, but-still-cult Japanese label Number (N)ine, they've gone through a serious jhuzz-up. The laces are off-center, there's some crazy lace/felt upper stuff going on--actually super-shaggy suede--and there's a rather twinkly little gold star on the back end.
In fact, just about the only thing that hasn't changed is the All-Star signage on the back, and the plimsoll-line stripe running round the bottom. They're available from tomorrow at some seriously high-end stores--10 Corso Como, Colette, Dover St Market, Wood Wood and Aloha Rag, for starters--and will cost $140 per pair.
One has to admit, however, that side-lacing shoes don't always work. Above left, see the Piltdown Man version, from Top Man, and Above right, the 101-Uses-For-A-Dead-Slanket, available in Target stores right now.
[Via Cool Hunting]
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- "Red Steel 2" Director on Motion Control Gaming, Making a "First-Person Brawler".
This month, Western-meets-Samurai Anime game Red Steel 2 takes a giant leap forward in translating players' movements into epic on-screen swordfights. Creative director Jason Vandenberghe gives us an inside look at the making of an action game with detailed motion controls and shares his enthusiasm for PlayStation Move and Microsoft's Project Natal.
Kevin Ohannessian: Tell me about Red Steel 2.
Jason Vandenberghe: Red Steel 2 is a first-person sword and gun-slinging action game, with the Wii Motion Plus required. We have broken through the first-person swordfighting barrier and have created what I affectionately call a first-person brawler. The game is played fast and furious at a close range. We started over with the franchise, the setting and the world; a new hero, a new look, a new style. It has more of a graphic novel look this time, in a world more fitting for swordfighting gameplay.
How is making a game with such detailed motion control different than a typical game?
It's revolutionary. We are one of a small group that can say that. Are you familiar with the "Wii Waggle"? The style of gameplay that's become common in many of the games--you can't play Red Steel that way. You have to treat the Wiimote like a sword, like you are holding a katana. The goal we had was to give you the sensation that the Wiimote you are swinging is a blade and when you make contact with your enemies you're really cleaving them. With the Wii Motion Plus, we can do it. It lets us take a first-person shooter, Red Steel, and turn it into a first-person fighter, Red Steel 2. We have been able to finally satisfy the promise of swordfighting on the Wii.
Wii Motion Plus at its core is a gyroscope. It tells us at all times what position the Wiimote is in, what angle is space the Wiimote is pointing. This turns out to be very useful for a few key things. Imagine your Wiimote is a sword and you are going to whack some dude with it. What's the first thing you do? Generally the first thing you do is pull back for the swing, you ready the swing. Well, if you holding the Wiimote like a sword that means the Wiimote isn't pointing at the sensor bar. Without the Motion Plus, the Wii has no idea where it is. With the Wii Motion Plus we know all throughout: drawing back for the swing, the moment you begin to accelerate, and we know that you're doing that and we know what direction you're moving; we can calculate the arc of your swing.
Without the Wii Motion Plus you swing the Wiimote and a half-second later it goes "Boom" on screen. With the Wii Motion Plus it's simultaneous; there's no lag. The difference between that half-second of lag is the difference between frustration and immersion. It's the key difference. And that why you haven't seen this kind of gameplay prior to the existence of the Wii Motion Plus, because it is not satisfying without it.
When making action-based motion control games, players' actual physical capabilities become more of an issue.
This is the core issue with human interface. We solved it in a whole bunch of ways, through experimentation and play testing. We looked for as many problems as we can find and looked for clever solutions to them. In Red Steel we have different difficulty modes. What we demand of the player, in terms of challenge and thinking, shifts. We found that humans are not as equally accurate with the blade. Almost everyone can be fast, which I was surprised by. You can ask people to swing that thing pretty quickly and they will go ahead and do it. It's the accuracy that's the issue. The thing that is really hard for people is understanding that there is someone next to them, knowing how to block and parry, how to respond to someone that is attacking them--these are the things we found that are really challenging to be in an action-style of play.
We found that really clear tutorials, we have these lessons in the game when you learn to do the actual motions, everyone seems to get that. If you are an Easy-level player, you are going to have to think about only one enemy at a time, even if you are surrounded. And the number of times you have to parry or block accurately is less. We scale down the type of skills we ask the player to do and let them focus on Conan-ing their way through the game. Everyone can do that; that's a human ability, to run in and start swinging. It's doing it with accuracy and grace that is the hard part.
When you are playing on a higher difficulty, you really have to focus on the motion, and you got to be moving--being surrounded is really dangerous. Combat in the real world--this is what we are discovering--if you get surrounded, you are screwed; it doesn't matter how skilled you are. In our game you really need to think about that: thinking about isolating your foe, diving in and then stunning them so they can't attack, taking advantage of that opening, and then getting the hell out of there. The game on Ninja difficulty is pretty challenging. But you know what? Our game is kind of like Guitar Hero, in that by the time you get down with Normal, you are ready for Ninja. It's a learnable skill; it's been a really fascinating study for us.
As someone who has now made a motion-controlled game, how do you feel about PlayStation Move and Microsoft's Project Natal?
It's thrilling; I'm very, very excited. I've been wanting to make a swordfighting game my entire career; I've pitched a swordfighting game at every studio I've worked at. And now that I've made one, my primary ambition in life is to make another one. I really want to keeping doing it--the technology is just going to keep getting better and better. I learned a huge amount about what it takes to do this--the human interface part is the hard part. We overcame a lot of those challenges with Red Steel 2. I want to keep going.
As far as what's going to happen with Red Steel, Red Steel 2 is Wii exclusive and always will be. As for the future, we are all waiting to see what happens when the game comes out: is it well received, did we do our job, is it a good thing, is there a demand--do people want to play this way? I want to play this way--but I need facts and statistics to back me up. Do me a favor and buy a million and a half copies. And tell your friends to buy a million and a half copies. And their friends too.
If you have been carrying around a swordfighting fantasy, if you were a kid that wished they were a samurai or a pirate and swinging a stick around in the backyard, you have to try this game. Pick it up and give it a chance; it's a lot of fun. It's something that the industry has been missing.
Ubisoft's Red Steel 2 for the Wii will be released March 23.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Microsoft's Courier Is Already Doomed: A Simple iPad App Shows Why.
The tech world was surprised when leaks about Microsoft's Courier tablet concept surfaced, because it seemed MS had something really clever for once. But the Courier faces Appley doom. And not by the iPad directly, but iPad apps.
Courier's design represents a complete and utter departure from the usual MS UI drudgery, which is partly why the video leaks acquired by Gizmodo back in 2009 were so fascinating. The whole thrust of MS's thinking is to create a super-smart electronic journal, even while that description completely fails to describe the potential of the Courier system. As a workflow organizer, document creator, calendar and meetings and shared content portal, mobile browser, mobile camera, and emailing app, MS's effort really is impressive. Check out the video below to remind yourself.
[youtube UmIgNfp-MdI]
Neat, huh?
Nope. Because now you have to watch this video, a preview of what will (hopefully) be one of the first apps to hit the App Store come April, called PadNotes.
[youtube j6nDbE1CK3o]
PadNotes is self-evidently useful--think of the potential uses for students taking notes in lectures, for business folk adding in notes to the PDF of their big project proposal while on a plane, for designers to sketch their ideas right at the moment they occur to them and the iPad is at hand.
Now, PadNotes is not Courier. It's developed by a small software company (Tirpirneni software), and though it's clever, it's evidently a first-gen piece of code. But you know by the third gen, it'll be even more awesome. And it's bound to get to the third generation, if not well beyond that, because iPhone developers have already demonstrated that you can maintain audience attention and thus revenue streams by updating your app products with new features. And by the third iteration, PadNotes may well be more Courier-like: Even if PadNote's developers don't do this, some competing company--possibly a bigger one, with more experience, will try something similar with more sophistication.
And that's why Courier's doomed. The iPad is coming soon, and it will sell like hotcakes (despite analyst nay-saying.) Apps like PadNotes will be available in April too, actually ready for use. We know that creative folk, who the Courier seems aimed at, still have an affinity to Apple products. And the Courier itself is still a distant hardware/software construct that nobody will get their paws on for ages. By which time Apple will have sewn up the half-laptop/half-smartphone market that tablets like the iPad are perfectly positioned in, and there'll be a slew of apps that do exactly what Courier promised, and possibly more.
[Via 9to5Mac]
To read more news like this, possibly on an iPad in just a few weeks, follow me, Kit Eaton, on Twitter.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Charities Offering More Jobs, Better Pay in 2010.
Apart from good karma--especially given the recent tragedies in Haiti and Chile--working for a charity will also offer good career prospects in 2010. According recent findings from Professionals for Nonprofits, most plan to hire new employees this year, and the overwhelming majority will raise staff salaries (or hold them steady).
Fittingly, fundraisers and financiers are the most in-demand. The data, which came from more than 1,200 organizations in New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., reveals that pay for fundraising jobs rose by 10% last year, while pay for senior-level finance jobs rose 7%. (Both numbers are expected to increase.) At charities with more than $50 million in yearly donations, the latter positions pay anywhere from $160,000 to $200,000.
So, where should you apply? Safe bets include educational groups, hospitals, and charities that work with homeless people or AIDS patients--program areas that received increased government funding. However, it'd be best to avoid small social-services or arts groups, both of which "seem to have the toughest time," says Gayle Brandel, president of Professional for Nonprofits.
Below, some location-specific data (takeaway: move to D.C.):
In New York, 37% of organizations expect their staff salaries to remain the same in 2010, while 55% expect to raise workers' pay. Only 5% expect to cut salaries. In Washington, 27% of groups expect salaries to stay steady, while 65% expect to offer raises. Only 2% expect to make pay cuts. Among the New Jersey groups, 36% expect to hold the line on salaries this year, while 54% expect to give raises. Only 3% are forecasting salary cuts.[Via The Chronicle of Philanthropy; image via Life123]
READ MORE: Top Jobs 2010
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Madonna Inks Teenage Fashion, Perfume Deals, Beats World to "Material Girl" Joke.
Anything that Stella McCartney can do, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone Penn Ritchie Insert Your Name Here And Win A Prize! obviously feels she can do better. She's just inked a deal with Iconix Brand Group that will see her producing a range of clothes for children that will be sold at Macy.
The MG Icon range (that's Material Girl) will cost between $12 and $40 and comprise of back-to-school apparel, footwear, handbags and jewelry. It'll be interesting to know which of her looks the once-chameleonic star will take inspiration from. As far as I can remember, the Disco Slut era was followed by the Lapsed Catholic Slut era, which in turn begat the Days of Tassels-On-Ma-Wotsits, and Italians Do It Better. What is most ironic about this announcement is that, while once she really was a fashion icon, recent years have seen her pottering about in Adidas tracksuits, Ed Hardy tees, and big puffy anoraks. A new set of priorities, perhaps.
And then there was this--M's first foray into fashion retailing: her collection for H&M. Capsule-like in its unadventurousness, the only thing you could really say about it was don't light a cigarette while you're wearing any of the mainly-black, mostly-shiny garments. There was also, if I remember rightly, a risible pair of sunglasses with a gilt M on the arms.
While the statement from Iconix was positively fawning spaniel-like in its euphoria, Madonna's was a bit more cool. "Joining forces to bring my fashion ideas to consumers is very exciting for me," she said. But you've got to give her a break. Famed for her multi-tasking, she probably whipped off this statement at the same time she was chowing down on some macrobiotic mung beans, minimizing her bingo wings, laying down the lyrics for her next album, showing up on The Marriage Ref, feeding the chickens, healing the world and berating an assistant.
Those of you who feel too old to be able to really work the look will have to wait for the singer's fragrance to be released sometime next year. As to what it will smell like--money, a virgin?--well, your guess is as good as mine.
[Via Daily Mail]
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- This Underwear Is Bananas, Literally.
Banana hammock, anyone? AussieBum has cheekily released a range of boxers and briefs made partially from sustainable banana fiber--a world first, according to the company. The lightweight, absorbent skivvies are made from 64% organic cotton, 7% lycra, and 27% banana fiber made out of the plant's bark weave. Any more than 27% fiber and the underwear would be a little too squishy. Want to check out the banana underwear in action? Check out the video below (mildly NSFW).
[youtube FdN9pKdWXXE]>
[Via Ecouterre]
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Google vs. China: Claws Come Out, Search Giant Sounds Like Sovereign Nation.
The spat between Google and the Chinese government has been rumbling along for weeks, but just now it's been elevated to "fist fight" status: The inevitable strongly-worded Chinese warning about "consequences" has arrived.
The warning came today from the Minister of Industry and IT, Li Yizhong, who was speaking to reporters at the annual National People's Congress meeting. Li was, of course, diplomatic about the matter and noted that the government does actually support Google in its efforts to "expand is business and market share in China."
But then the gloves came off: "If [Google] violates Chinese laws it would be unfriendly and irresponsible and [it] will definitely be responsible for the consequences." This is the most direct threat yet toward the global search engine giant, and highlights that the Chinese government is not going to budge one millimeter from its official legal position. If Google, for whatever reason, decides to stop censoring its search results which it currently does to comply with the strict Dark Ages-style active censorship laws the Chinese demand, then China will simply snip off access to Google, and really won't care about the matter.
Basically, this seems to be the start of the Chinese lock-down. It comes after months of posturing which started with Google's (and others) accusations of serious hacking attempts from China, possibly with state complicity, and which has recently got confusing over whether or not Google and China are in direct dialog. Google may well have threatened to withdraw from China, after first uncensoring its search engine...but as of yet it appears to have made no active moves to enact the threats. And maybe that's the point--it's been being inscrutable, and waiting for exactly this new Chinese posturing.
And this almost makes it seem like Google's behaving with the same diplomatic grace and guile of a real nation. Which is amusing, given the slightly fudged and hands-off handling the actual U.S. government is exhibiting in its dealings with this case--demonstrated neatly by a new official State Department report that condemns China's "numerous and serious" rights abuses, but which is merely a paper threat. Does Google have more direct impact on human rights and freedoms in China than the Obama Administration? That's a scary thought. We'll all have to see what the next plays are in the Google-China battle to find out.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Doritos Mega-Chip Parody Comes in Apple Flavor.
If you think that Doritos has gone down the same road that Cheetos did, with its supersized snack--the kind of thing you'd need to buy an extra seat for should you be popping one of these on a flight--you're wrong. They've just come up with a nifty little viral video that compares their triangular chips to an iPad, and the video includes a whole bunch of wide-eyed, evangelical Apple employee-alikes--particularly fetching is the faux-Limey Jon Ive lookalike in tight black T-shirt.
[youtube AgqnOqfehJE]
"The old-flavor model is obsolete, welcome to Spice 2.0," drones the Senior VP for Doritos Worldwide Marketing. Best bit, however, is the kicker at the end. A Doritos Genius, who's a dead ringer for Donnie Wahlberg, tells us we can make an appointment online to talk about the Doritos Tablet. "It'll be a couple of weeks from now, but it's still an appointment."
[Via TUAW]
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Foursquare vs. Gowalla: Inside the Check-In Wars.
If you ever visit the downtown Manhattan offices of Foursquare, the popular location-based social game for smartphones, don't say the word Gowalla. When I made that mistake during a visit there last November, 27-year-old cofounder Naveen Selvadurai sent me to the Foursquare time out chair. It was a joke. I think.
Gowalla is Foursquare's arch-rival. The companies both launched eight months earlier at the South by South West interactive festival. Their products pioneered the then-uncharted territory of location-based social networking. On Foursquare, a user "checks in" to locations (as pinpointed via satellite) to invite along friends, leave tips glued to GPS coordinates (like ordering advice at restaurants), and compete for digital rewards in the form of badges, or titles like "mayor" (for the user who checks in the most at a venue). Similarly, Gowalla asked users to check in places in order to collect digital goodies, akin to virtual geocaching. Gowalla's app was initially buggy, and Foursquare, with an appealing social element, stole the show. Social media blogs like Mashable named Foursquare the "breakout app" of SXSW, and a few months later Crowley and Selvadurai raised $1.35 million from investors including Fred Wilson (Twitter, Boxee, Tumblr) who bet that Foursquare was the next big thing. CNN called it "next year's Twitter."
Back at Foursquares offices, cofounder Dennis Crowley, 33, proceeds to show me screenshots of Gowalla, explaining how they blatantly ripped off features. "I'm waiting for the first original thing they come out with," Crowley said. "Everything they've come out with so far is a derivative of ours."
Gowalla's CEO, Josh Williams, says he didn't know about Foursquare until after version 1.0 of his app was released. "When we set out to build Gowalla, we simply wanted to use collectibles and a lightweight game to reward users for exploring the world around them," Williams says. "Honestly I had know idea we were stepping into what would become a very hot space." Left in the wake of Foursquare's popularity and superior functionality, Gowalla lurked in the shadows until this Fall. Shortly after Foursquare attracted its first investment, Gowalla raised about $8.4 million from several investors, including a few angels who kicked themselves for not sealing a deal with Foursquare.
Then Williams released Gowalla 1.2 in September. And Selvadurai debuted the time-out chair.
The new and improved Gowalla included features that mimicked many Foursquare's existing ones: a top 10 user list at venues patterned after Foursquare's mayor award; unlockable badges for venturing to new places, some with identical names as Foursquare's (such as the "explorer" and "discoverer" badges); and a focus on sharing your location with friends, a social element largely absent in Gowalla 1.0 that spurred a network effect in Foursquare adoption.
Imitation may be flattery, but the cash-disadvantaged Foursquare team was not flattered. And the competitors coded furiously through the winter. Foursquare attracted mainstream partnerships with Bravo TV, Zagat, Harvard University, and a host of national retailers. Gowalla struck advertising deals with media companies such as Travel Channel and retailers like Incase.
Four months later, as both companies prepare for their sophomore year at the SXSW conference, the drama has mellowed for the founders, but not the users. Foursquare is positioning itself primarily as a social utility and city guide, while Gowalla is leaning toward its gaming roots and attempting to bridge the gap between virtual and tangible goods. But it's clear that an "unofficial" competition will ensue at the festival which begins on Friday. Gowalla, on its home turf in Austin, is buddying up with Chevrolet for some slick games and promotions during the festival. Foursquare will vie for user checkins through an array of partnership promos, including SPIN, Pepsi, Good, Adobe, and Paypal. So who's going to win?
Foursquare broke the 500,000 member mark a week ago, while Gowalla has a loyal following, numbered in the mid 100,000s. Each is dominant in its home city (Foursquare in New York, Gowalla in Austin), and until Foursquare's January update allowing check ins in any city, Gowalla ruled small to medium sized cities like Topeka, Kansas, with Foursquare generally dominating larger metro areas.
When asked about Gowalla earlier this week, Crowley doesn't spit. He acknowledges it as a great company, even playing them off as hardly a competitor. "I think we're both doing interesting things in the location space, but working at it from two different perspectives," he says. "We've always been about 'friends going places' . . . The big difference is our focus on social utility and badges for real life achievements, and it seems their focus is on collecting digital goods."
While the future of these companies may not be at stake at SXSW this year, the winner will matter to the many voracious users of each platform. But the race is no longer about which app works better; it's about whether you like a sort of real-life Pokemon (Gowalla), or to socialize and compete with friends (Foursquare). And there's no reason you can't do both (if you're an obsessive type with lots of battery life).
But the sad truth is that both companies could lapse into obscurity now that behemoths like Twitter and Facebook are bringing their big guns to the geo-social networking space. In fact, this week it was revealed that Facebook, which has 800 times the users as Foursquare, will be adding location check ins as early as next month.
Maybe by summer Foursquare will be giving me a "time out" for saying the word Facebook.
Read more: Facebook to Add Location Data, Encourage Epic Levels of Oversharing
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Most Innovative Companies - Energy.
Sponsored by
1. First Solar
The "Google of solar" is the first renewable-energy company to be added to the S&P 500. Top 50 No. 6
2. PG&E
California's largest utility was the first company to quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over its opposition to climate-change legislation. Top 50 No. 7
3. Recurve
Formerly Sustainable Spaces, it's one of the nation's leaders in home-energy audits, retrofits, and systems. Matt Golden, the tech-minded, laser-focused founder and CEO, has been the key architect of Obama's Cash for Caulkers, a proposed $23 billion two-year program to green America's homes.
4. NextEra Energy Resources
NextEra added another 1,000 megawatts of wind power in 2009 and has more than 600 MW of solar-thermal projects in California and Arizona in the works. It also raised $22 million in a trust, from consumers and corporate partners such as Citigroup, Office Depot, REI, and HSBC, for its clean-energy projects, issuing renewable-energy credits in return. Innovation All-stars
5. Envion
In mid-September, the company unveiled a plastic-to-oil technology 15 years in the making. Using a proprietary infrared process, one of its 47-by-13-feet units can convert 10,000 tons of plastic trash per year into up to 50,000 barrels of synthetic oil for less than $10 per barrel -- for a net energy gain.
6. Vestas
The world's wind leader was not immune to the downturn, with a slowdown in the rate of profitability growth, but it's still expanding and gaining on a "Triple 15" target: 15% operating earnings on revenue of 15 billion euros by 2015. Vestas is also making its award-winning internal education program on wind and climate change available to the public. Innovation All-stars
7. Recurrent Energy
Rather than fight wilderness advocates to put utility-scale solar in the desert, Recurrent invests in fleets of small- to mid-scale solar-power installations close to cities and other high-demand areas. In September, it announced a 4.8-MW solar-power project in Spain, to occupy rented rooftops, with a real-estate investment trust. Construction has begun on a project to solar-tile the roof of San Francisco's largest reservoir -- the size of 12 football fields -- to generate 5 MW of solar power. It's expected to be completed early this year.
8. SolarEdge
Its systems embed directly into solar panels, allowing real-time monitoring and improved conversion using smart-grid-like technologies. The result can boost solar-power systems' output by up to 25%. In October, the Israeli startup closed $23 million in an international round of funding that included venture capital from GE.
9. Silver Spring Networks
The most widely adopted smart-grid platform in North America works with utilities that together serve 20% of U.S. customers. Its projects encompass demand response as well as smart-meter, smart-home, and smart-garage projects. In April, Silver Spring had a notable launch of its Energy Smart Miami program, a collaboration with Florida Power & Light, GE, and Cisco Systems.
10. Suzlon
The Pune, India-based company is the wind market leader in Asia. Quality-control issues cost it sales in 2008 and the recession reduced demand in 2009, but it's still the third-largest turbine manufacturer in the world, with a 12.3% market share. Suzlon distinguishes itself with a vertically integrated, turnkey structure. Suzlon will site large projects, get the permits, acquire the rights, and construct the power lines, the buildings, and even the roads leading to remote areas.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Crib Sheet: Mozilla's Mitch Kapor, Lotus-Leafer or Berkeley Agitator?.
Just how do you go about introducing Mitch Kapor? Designer of Lotus 1-2-3, founder of the Open Source Applications Foundation, first chair of the Mozilla Foundation, current chair of OneWebDay.. oh, blah, let's leave it up to his Twitter bio. "Tech entrepreneur, startup investor, activist philanthropist." Mitch Kapor, Born in Brooklyn and now residing in San Francisco, is a mogul of many colors--although mostly green. The Lotus Development Corporation, Mozilla Foundation and Open Source Applications Foundation are all doing good work for the world thanks to him--and he took over the chair of OneWebDay after its founder, Susan P. Crawford, went to work for President Obama. If you could draw a simple venn diagram to show the overlap between technology and doing good, Mitch would be at its heart.
Or would he? Head on out to Berkeley, California, to a plot of land that Mitch and his wife Freada Kapor Klein have earmarked for their green palace. Trouble is, neighbors are saying that a 10,000-square foot house with a 10-car garage just can't be that ecologically friendly (and the town has a 60-point green scale it uses as a measuring stick). The spat--between residents, and Kapor's architect--is getting out of hand. So, in the emerald corner, team Kapor. And in the eau de nil corner, the Berkeley-ites.
Eau de Nil: "That the staff, the owners and the architects indulge in this kind of greenwashing only serves to make a joke out of Berkeley's environmental aspirations."
Emerald: According to an email from Kapor's architect, Donn Logan, both he and his client were too busy to respond to questions.
Eau de Nil: "...absurd."
Emerald: "..."
Anyway, enough about that, let's shine the spotlight back on Kapor.
Forget about software, we want to know about the first piece of hardware you made at Junior High: "It was a gated adder with a rotary telephone dial as the primary input device."
What Mitch most identifies with: Long Island in the 60s and the Pastrami sandwich.
Getting off his Lotus leaf and becoming a VC: "I'd been a great angel investor, but professional venture capital was clearly not the right thing for me."
Crossing continents "I'd always wanted to live in San Francisco and my circumstances never permitted it. I'm so happy I made the move. I'd been married (it ended in 1996) and I found myself thinking about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life."
So, you made a whole lotta money, why carry on working? "Even more compelling than the idea of working for a living--at least to me--is to make a difference, to give something back, to do some good in the world, to create something."
Seriously? "I just consider it incredible good fortune that I'm in a position to be able to do that with as much of my time as I want. So I'm more motivated about working now than I've ever been. It's great to find yourself, to find a passion."
You're so money, baby: "None of us who made huge fortunes in the early days really deserved it. The insanity that saw Amazon achieve a higher capital value than General Motors has largely been leached out of the system, and so if that's what you're after, do something different."
Mitch's golden rules about start up culture: "Have an impact. Be prepared for bullying and public humiliation. Diverse teams are better. inaction is an action too. Hold people accountable. Be serious about keeping a tight leash. Beware angel investors, they can be disruptive.
The Secret life of Mitchell Kapor (he appeared in a conference in the VR world in 2007) "People are hungry for community. They're hungry for meaning in a society that is oriented around the production and consumption of consumer goods. Buy more stuff. I mean, it doesn't make people happy. But when there is an alternative to be able to reach out and to find kindred spirits who have come in interest or share a common perspective on life to feel fulfilled by that, people will do that even if it is a somewhat low-resolution version of reality."If Mozilla had been smaller, would he have called it Mozuki? "I think it was like the Harry Potter of open source. you know how all the movies open with him living with his aunt and uncle, who give him no respect and lock him up? People had written off Mozilla on multiple occasions."
Just check out Number Two, in the Apple Dating Game of 1983. He looks like a bad boy, doesn't he?
[youtube NVtxEA7AEHg]
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Industry Buzz & News: 3/12/10. Ad Technologies:
Instant ads set the pace on the web.
Jumptap mulling mobile ad licensing program.
E-Commerce:
E-tailers should act fast to comply with Colorado's new law.
Search:
Google...
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- How Viagra Commemorated Its 11th Birthday.
FrederickSamuel, where this picture is from, says: When Pifzer wanted to mark Viagra’s 11th birthday, they wanted to do it in typical, tongue-in-cheek Viagra style. A party blower (featuring a Viagra pill pattern) was created to hand out to... Read more
(03/12/10 09:00 AM) - This Week’s Weird Jobs.
This headmaster costume is from UltimatePartyShop. What do you get when you put an 8-legged person, a Christian headmaster, a bikini softball player, and a mature webmaster in a room? This week's weird job applicants, that's what: 1. Fla:... Read more
(03/12/10 09:00 AM) - India Company's Medical-Tourism Push. Indian hospital operator Fortis Healthcare’s purchase of a big stake in Singapore-based Parkway Holdings could lead to a major shakeup in the global health-care industry. In Asia, Singapore has always been at the top of the pecking order of the medical tourism industry, which caters to people ...
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- India's Next Outsourcing Wave.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Stock Picks: Netflix, Nike, Discover, National Semiconductor. Wall Street analyst opinions on stocks making headlines in Friday's market
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- BGC May Hire Tullett Staff Next Month, Judge Says (Update2). BGC Partners Inc. may be able to hire employees from rival Tullett Prebon Plc as soon as next month, a London judge ruled today in a long-running dispute between the brokers.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- European Stocks Rise, Extending Weekly Gain; Siemens Advances. European stocks advanced, extending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s second consecutive weekly gain, on speculation the European Union may offer to bail out Greece and an unexpected increase in U.S. retail sales.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Fat Surgery Urged for Obese Kids May Boost Allergan (Update1). David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children’s Hospital Boston, was against weight-loss surgery for kids, he says, because it ignored the real problem, a “toxic environment” jammed with junk food.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- New York, Washington to Receive Soaking Rains Through Weekend. Soaking rains from a slow-moving storm will spread across the northeastern U.S. today, leaving as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) from Washington to New York City though the weekend, forecasters said.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Nokia Seeks Dismissal of Apple’s Antitrust Claims (Update1). Nokia Oyj, the world’s largest maker of mobile phones, asked a U.S. judge to throw out Apple Inc.’s claims that it is trying to monopolize the wireless technology market and seize access to iPhone technology.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Primus Guaranty Hires Lusardi to Help Rebuild Credit-Swap Unit. Primus Guaranty Ltd. hired Robert Lusardi, a board member and former XL Capital Ltd. executive, to help it rebuild a business that sold credit-default swaps to banks and other financial firms.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- U.S. Stocks Fluctuate Following Drop in Consumer Confidence. U.S. stocks drifted between gains and losses, a day after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed at a 17-month high, as a drop in consumer confidence snuffed out early gains spurred by an unexpected increase in retail sales.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Social Network Hi5 Gets Its Game On. To tap the market for virtual goods, hi5 is recasting itself as a site for social games and courting developers as a choice besides Facebook
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- Website Copywriting - How to Enhance Your Copywriting Skills. Sound copywriting skills are indispensable and lucrative in the business of pitching sales and getting possible clients.
With the appropriate preparation and determination, you can easily enhance y...
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- Getting Off-Line Traffic to Your Local News Website. One of the more interesting things that is happening on the Internet is the fact that many of the websites that are now coming of age are localized. Local search is something that many people are focu...
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- Using Forums For Targetted Traffic. Although some people will go to great lengths to get thousands of visitors to their websites, a small group of people are finding that a smaller audience is often able to product more results. The rea...
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- Are You Getting Traffic From Your List?. If there's one thing that has been true ever since the Internet was first created, it's the fact that the money is really in your list. As a matter of fact, some people are taking list building to the...
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- Recommending Your Website Through Other People. Getting a lot of traffic is something that many of us, as webmasters, aspire to. As a matter of fact, we may spend a considerable amount of time and resources making sure that our traffic stream is co...
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- Using the Organic Search Engine Results to Drive Traffic. There are dozens of different ways for you to be able to drive traffic to a website, but it is difficult to beat the type of traffic that you're going to get from the organic search engines. Search en...
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- Using Article Marketing For Increased Traffic. Although it is always a good idea to make sure that you're looking for new forms of traffic, it is also important to make sure that you're sticking with the old standards as well. A good example of th...
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- Buying Traffic For Instant Results. Whenever we first start a new website, most of us are anxious to be able to get traffic to it almost immediately. Unfortunately, things don't tend to work that way and it may be weeks or perhaps even ...
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- Surfers Paradise- The Final Holiday Destination. Surfers paradise is the most popular holiday destination for everyone coming to Australia. Located in the Gold Coast in the state of Queens...
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- CoSHH Regulations - 2002. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (CoSHH) Regulations 2002 relates to a large variety of substances and preparations which have the capability of causing harm if they are inhaled, ingested...
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- Beach Weddings in Miami. A wedding is perhaps the most important celebration that you will be having in your entire life. This can be said for both the bride and the groom and what better location than a beach! It will help y...
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- Online Copywriting Best Practices. Online copywriting is a crucial component of the web marketing arm. A good piece of web content is your ticket to a successful online business. It is an important factor in any online communication ac...
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- Corporate advisory services to benefit SMEs, investors. CNI Research, an organisation focusing on small and mid-cap companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), has now forayed into offering investment and financial advisory services by enterin...
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- Surfers Paradise- The Final Holiday Destination. Surfers paradise is the most popular holiday destination for everyone coming to Australia. Located in the Gold Coast in the state of Queens...
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- Why Do Christian Louboutin Footwear Constantly Manipulate And Affect Ladies?.
The appropriate sense of style allows women to be able to emphasize what they are up to. Even with all the talk regarding equal opportunities and every one that, there are plenty of ... (03/12/10 09:00 AM) - Overcome Fear of Speaking in Public. If you find that you're afraid of an approaching presentation, you are not by yourself. The fear of speaking in public is among the greatest fears for most people, but you can do something about it.
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- Infinity Downline, Why This Product?. If you are not yet aware, Infinity Dowline is a top-rate affiliate program, which membership allows one access to a comprehensive collection of internet marketing training for network marketers and ni...
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- Why Do Christian Louboutin Shoes Always Control And Affect Women?.
The ideal sense of style will allow ladies to manage to show off what they are up to. Even with all the talk regarding equal opportunities and every one that, there are numerous fema... (03/12/10 09:00 AM) - Buy Mobiles from the House of Samsung. Samsung Mobile Phones share a considerable portion of the mobile phone market, and have been launching handsets at regular intervals. Samsung launched its Corby series, which is aimed at gaining a foo...
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- Call for extension of 2% interest subvention for garment exporters. The Ministry of Textiles has sought the extension of concessional export finance scheme to the beleaguered garment export sector in India, which has been excluded from availing the 2% interest subvent...
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Your Own Private Help Desk. India's iYogi promises to keep you up and running—but the hard sell grates, says columnist Rich Jaroslovsky
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Weil: Greece Borrows from Citi's Playbook. Is it too much to ask for the world’s titans of government and finance to speak credibly when they open their mouths? Some of them sure seem to think so, judging by the latest news from the financial-crisis front.
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Greece's Weakness Is Its Strength. Prime Minister Papandreou has used his country's fragile state to his advantage in negotiations with the EU
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Charlie Rose Talks with Papandreou. The Prime Minister on the dangers of not saving Greece
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- Can Manchester United Kick Its Debt Habit?. England's most storied team is winning on the field, but like most other Premier League clubs it is deep in hock
(03/12/10 09:00 AM)
- The Humbling of Toyota. A combination of high-speed global growth and ambitious cost cuts led to the quality lapses that have tarnished the once-mighty brand. How it all went wrong
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- A Food Fight for Chávez. With his popularity sagging, Venezuela's fiery President is seizing supermarkets. Can he keep stores stocked?
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Japanese Stocks Gain on Central Bank Speculation; Ringgit Rises. Japanese stocks gained on speculation the central bank will add more funds to its financial system. Emerging-market currencies rose as confidence grew that Greece can pay its debt.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Batista Closing Gap on Slim, Gates as OSX Sale Bolsters Dream. Eike Batista’s plan to raise $5.6 billion in the biggest initial public offering this year moves him one step closer to fulfilling his ambition of being the world’s richest man.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Chavez No Challenge to Mendoza’s Fortune. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s “21st Century Socialism” is failing to rein in billionaire Lorenzo Mendoza.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Chile’s Peso Not ‘One-Sided Bet’ Investors See, Pimco Says. Chile’s peso will begin weakening late this year as the country’s worst earthquake in 50 years slows economic growth and record-low interest rates sap demand for fixed-income assets, Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Guillermo Osses said.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- House, Senate Leaders Agree on Health. U.S. House and Senate leaders have agreed on legislative language to push forward President Barack Obama’s proposed overhaul of the nation’s health-care system, a top House Democrat said.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 Rises on Yen Optimism; Nippon Mining Falls. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained, set for its biggest weekly advance in three months, on optimism the yen will weaken amid speculation the central bank will loosen monetary policies.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Obama’s Trade Goal Fights Clean-Energy Plan. President Barack Obama’s goals of boosting U.S. exports and combating climate change are colliding as the U.S. Export-Import Bank expands financing for oil, gas, mining and power-plant projects
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Quake Shakes Pinera’s Plan to Spur Chile. Sebastian Pinera was inaugurated as president today minutes after powerful earthquakes shook buildings in Valparaiso and Santiago, stirring memories of last month’s devastating 8.8-magnitude temblor.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Dodd to Unveil Own Financial Rules Overhaul. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said he will release his version of legislation to overhaul financial rules, signaling that talks on a compromise have collapsed
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Toyota Seeks 2010 Recovery of Lost U.S. Sales. Toyota Motor Corp. set a 2010 goal of regaining most of the U.S. market share lost in the past two months after global recalls of 8 million vehicles damped demand, the No. 2 U.S. sales executive said.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- WTC Captive Reaches Settlement of 9/11 Rescue Claims (Update1). WTC Captive Insurance Co., a victims’ fund set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, reached a settlement of as much as $657 million with 10,000 workers claiming respiratory illness stemming from rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Yellen Said to Be Obama’s Pick for Fed Vice Chairman (Update3). Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen is President Barack Obama’s pick for vice chairman of the central bank in Washington, two people with knowledge of the selection process said.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Yen Trades Near 2-Week Low; Kan Says Intervention Is an Option. The yen traded near two-week lows against the dollar and the euro after Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan said foreign-exchange intervention is always an option for the government if currency movements are abrupt.
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Review: 2010 BMW 750Li xDrive. The 2010 BMW 750Li with xDrive offers the luxury and legroom of a limo but the power and handling of a, well, BMW
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- A Swiss Army Knife For Knitters.
It all started with Barbara Barry’s new hobby, knitting. Whenever she’d learn something new she would find herself shopping at her local craft store for that new piece. Eventually those pieces would find themselves lost at the bottom of her knitting bag. So Barry took to the net in search of an [...]
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Take A Lesson In Entrepreneurship.
Gregg Fairbrothers wasn’t born into business, he was actually raised in an academic household, reports Fortune.
“I didn’t know a debit from a credit,” he admits. Fairbrothers studied earth sciences at Dartmouth in the ’70s, got his master’s at Rutgers, and eventually moved to Tulsa, where he joined Samson, a gas driller, and earned his chops [...]
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Brazilian Entrepreneurs Thrive On The Web.
According to the BBC, the online revolution in Brazil has opened up new opportunities to create small businesses that never existed before.
Fabio Seixas is a 35-year-old “serial entrepreneur” whose three previous businesses went bust.
But he appears to have struck gold with an innovative way of selling designer T-shirts online, by getting his customers to [...]
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Stock Picks: CA, Bed Bath & Beyond, Dr Pepper, Hot Topic. Wall Street analyst opinions on stocks making headlines in Thursday's market
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Experts Talk Trade Gap, Claims, China's Inflation. What Wall Street economists and strategists had to say about key developments on Mar. 11
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- An App for the Android? Your CFO Will Love You. It is becoming increasingly difficult for brands and marketers to break even - or make a dent in the mobile public's awareness - when developing an app for Apple. Not so with the Android, as the...
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- CBS Uses 'Boss Button' to Promote Facebook Page. It’s March Madness, which means it's time to activate the so-called Boss Button again. While this probably started out as a joke, the Boss Button has gotten a lot of actual use - and at least one...
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- In Email v SocNet Debate, Harmony is One Answer. Is Email dead? That has been a favorite topic for debate among marketers that wonder if they are wasting precious resources on this approach when their customers are - seemingly - flocking to social...
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Who’s the publisher now?. I can’t say I can see the trends, but I can find the other people finding the trends… This great post (from Jan. 29) at Content Marketing Today, talks about the slow death of advertising/publishing trade-pub model, and the growth of grass-roots content-marketing by B2B manufacturers themselves.
“As Content Marketing Goes from Optional to Obligatory for [...]
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Bank of America Apologizes for Seizing Parrot.
Bank of America recently experienced a home seizure FAIL. The bank ransacked a woman's home, padlocked her doors shut, and seized her parrot--by accident. The bank accidentally foreclosed on her home, even though her mortgage payments were up to... Read more
(03/11/10 09:00 PM) - Book Review: “A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Conversation”.
A stranger in an airplane sparked a conversation with me the other day. Rather than the usual awkward seatmate dialogue, we ended up having a good conversation. He told me about his time in Iraq and playing craps in Vegas. I told him about... Read more
(03/11/10 09:00 PM) - Carlos Slim Richest Man on Forbes Billionaire List.
Image: José Cruz/ABr The 2010 Forbes billionaire list awarded Carlos Slim Helu its richest man in the world honor. The Mexican tycoon is worth $53.5 billion, beating out Bill Gates ($53 billion) and Warren Buffett ($47 billion). Here are the... Read more
(03/11/10 09:00 PM) - Entrepreneurs Unplugged with Tyler Tysdal. ...
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
- Negotiating an Angel Deal: What Angels, Entrepreneurs & VCs Need to Know. ...
(03/11/10 09:00 PM)
