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1. At Cleveland Mall Green Market, Sustainability Is the New Hot Topic.

   

   Yesterday, we reported on the Cleveland Galleria mall's plan to build a massive urban greenhouse where retail shops once stood. The real story, it turns out, is what the two people behind the Gardens Under Glass project have planned for tomorrow. An urban wasteland is being transformed into a green paradise.

   The idea came about as a way to put some of the mall's empty space to good use, the Galleria's marketing and events director Vicky Poole tells FastCompany.com. At its peak, the Galleria had approximately 200 shops. Then the economy tanked. Stores shuttered. A regional bank took over a quarter of the building, the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association took over another chunk of space, and much of the rest of the mall was left abandoned.

   

   Poole's first venture into making some extra cash for the mall came 5 years ago when she transformed the food court into an event space for weddings. And then she read an article in Urban Land magazine about vertical farming in cities. "As we run out of land, where can we grow our food? We can utilize empty buildings and empty areas," she explained.

   Luckily for Poole, the Galleria has a cool environment with minimal humidity that is perfect for growing lettuces and other greens. So Poole teamed up with Jack Hamilton, the operations manager for Artist Review Today magazine and gallery (located in the Galleria), to get a $30,000 start-up grant for the Gardens Under Glass project from the Civic Innovation Lab. The mall's management came on board immediately.

   

   This past February, the pair set up a 12-foot food cart filled with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, and even a few strawberries. The cart uses Filtrexx's Gardensoxx--a compost-based mesh containment system that can be set up anywhere. Compost comes from Sweet Pea, a local company that manufactures compost and topsoil mixes. "We set up one cart initially to see how vegetables would do. The produce was pulled out of a greenhouse and we put up LEDs for natural light," Poole said. So far so good--the spinach, lettuce, and tomatoes are all growing well, while the strawberries are coming along a bit slower.

   

   In the next few weeks, the Galleria hopes to install some hydroponic units as well. An order with one hydroponics vendor fell through, so now Poole and Hamilton are searching for another. Eventually, the pair hope to experiment with aquaponics growing methods as well. "Even hydroponically, there are different systems available. So what we plan to do is demonstrate all these systems of growing and at the same time we can see how plants do in different circumstances," Poole said. Once the food really starts rolling in, Gardens Under Glass plans to start selling produce to vendors inside the Galleria. "We've already had talks with Asia Town (a grocery store) and Cafe Sausalito," Hamilton said.

   After that, Hamilton and Poole have an even bigger ambition: turning the Galleria into an urban ecovillage. They hope to attract solar panel companies, health food stores, garden supply companies, vegetarian restaurants and more into the former retail center. It's a big project, but one that has the potential to educate Cleveland residents about how they can grow their own organic fruits and vegetables. "It's a feel good message," Poole said.

   [Gardens Under Glass]

   
   

   
   (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

2. Tom Dixon's Burlesque-Themed Circus: G'hed, Order the Strip!.

   You've never really dined until you've dined next to a stripper pole.

   

   Superstar designer Tom Dixon--whom we've covered frequently before--recently finished his newest interiors project, for a new restaurant in London called Circus.

   Obviously, restaurants with a circus theme have been done over and over ago--there was the original Le Cirque, with monkey-drawings everywhere. And Aureole, in Las Vegas, features trapeze performers that fetch your wine. But where Le Cirque and Aureole are pure kitsch, Circus aims more for trust-fund cool-kids that wear Helmut Lang.

   The building itself used to be housing for the animals performing for the Royal Opera House--a fact that Dixon and the Seven Dials restaurant group have used to inspire the design. Only this time, the performers are human: The wait staff does double duty, performing in cabaret acts.

   Ergo, you'll notice the "Circus" theme referenced in the harlequin pattern on the wall below. And also the stairs attached to the long dining table, so that it can quickly become a stage:

   

   Meanwhile, the lounge actually has a stripper pole:

   

   

   Related stories:

   Dean Street Townhouse, London, Asks: Porn with Those Bangers? (It's Tasteful)

   Woodward in Boston: Where Ben Franklin Meets Supermodels

   Restaurants of the Recession: The Wright, New York City

   Restaurants of the Recession: Robert, New York City

   
   

   
   (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

3. The Spa Experience For Kids. At a time when pampering ourselves seems to be more of a necessity than a special treat, Ayanna Williams has put the fun back into the spa experience by selling a kid-friendly version, reports Business First of Buffalo. Williams created the business to pamper little girls, with all natural sweet treatments, from chocolate facials to banana [...] (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

4. If the Customer Is Truly King, Then Sonoma Partners Is One Smitten Queen.

   

   Any time a head of a company uses the word "upswing" in detailing his business' recent success, there is a bit of a compulsion around these parts to comment on the company. Please excuse a little cheerleading. But it is especially important to draw attention to an Upswing-ing outfit that saw its revenues swing up by ... 44% last year!

   So how did Chicago-based Sonoma Partners do it? The firm works exclusively with Microsoft Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management software, thus they were in a prime position to goose their bottom line during a downturn. First they identified an opportunity in the soft belly of the bear--in this case, Sonoma Partners realized that companies needed a competitive advantage more than ever and a good place to start is by solidifying bonds with customers. If you aren't going to be able to lure new clients into your realm, you sure as hell better hold on to the ones you've got.

   Sonoma does this by working with groups in the service industry, like a hotel chain or the home of the Bulls and Blackhawks, The United Center, to both customize their CRM and help them manage it. And they've amped up their customization efforts over the past year, suiting detailed data to each firm with which it works,

   This prompted Principle Mike Snyder to crow dryly: "A large part of our business upswing is attributable to our customization efforts, which allow our clients to get the maximum benefit out of CRM."

   Huzzah!

   Snyder gives examples of such customization as everything from on-the-ground reports during election days to helping a real estate firm better manage its leases.

   The company has also been somewhat lucky in that it is catching a cresting wave. As Snyder notes, Microsoft's customer relations technology is enjoy a moment. And I've written here in the past about anecdotal evidence that one check on the plus side of the recession ledger is improved customer service almost across the board. This goes back to the idea that businesses are holding tight to their existing customers. And that works out well for you, me and, clearly, Sonoma Partners.

   Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlemunicipalarchives/ / CC BY 2.0

   
   

   
   (03/10/10 09:00 AM)

5. What Would You Ask Nature? Submit to the Biomimicry Institute/Designers Accord Challenge!.

   

   Thanks to a smart TED talk by biologist Janine Beynus that made the rounds a few years ago, books like Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, and new online resources like AskNature.org, more and more designers are realizing a simple truth when trying to find responsible, ecological solutions: If we're trying to do it, chances are, nature already did it better.

   Biomimicry is quickly becoming a cornerstone of sustainable design (read our story on biomimicry from 2008), but for designers who want to incorporate biomimicry into their work, many don't know where to start. Some famous biomimetic solutions have gotten passed around the mainstream press--including examples like self-cleaning surfaces modeled on lotus flowers, or the sticky repositionable tape inspired by gecko feet--but biomimicry isn't as easy as using nature as a crib sheet. "One of the big realizations that designers have when they play with biomimicry is that it's not a tool, it's a mindset shift," says Dayna Baumeister, who co-founded the Biomimicry Guild with Benyus in 1998. "Because of that--because of the fundamentally different way of thinking--it's hard."

   Biomimicry expert Janine Benyus' 2005 TED talk

   Even for biologists, it requires a shift in thinking, says Baumeister, from learning about nature to learning from nature, including how each of those processes fit within a larger ecosystem. In a way, it's examining nature's solutions for survival, but through a design lens, says Chris Allen, project manager for AskNature.org. "You can look at brilliant engineering and strategies for living over thousands of years."

   A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEThe Biomimicry Guild has worked alongside companies to help them achieve that shift in thinking, from a longstanging relationship with flooring and finishes company Interface, to a team currently on-site at an architectural project in India, where they're creating buildings that not only are made from natural materials, they actually behave like natural organisms. Currently there's a great deal of excitement bridging algorithms found in nature and information technology or "generative design," where we're able to extrapolate data from the way that nature goes through its iterative design process in evolution.

   A rainforest strategy in need of a real-life application: The bill of toco toucan acts as a heat exchanger to regulate body temperature by adjusting blood flow

   And, using biomimetic principles, we've also been able to learn more about our own species: The Biomimicry Guild is starting conversations with global companies that manufacturer things like cosmetics--in which case their own in-house scientiststs have been studying hair and skin for decades.

   Because biomimicry experts believe that designers play an integral role in making sustainable, nature-inspired decisions in a project, they believe that's where their influence is best appropriated. A biologist working in biomimetic design is known as a Biologist at the Design Table, or, in a biomimetic-appropriate acronym: a BaDT. There are currently very few BaDTs--only about 75 worldwide--since they have to undergo extensive training. But eventually, the goal is to have a BaDT in every design firm who can help guide the designers towards smarter, more nature-influenced solutions--and that's where we come in.

   A lightweight chair design inspired by spiderwebs, by Linda Dong as part of the Student Design Sketch Challenge

   A REAL-WORLD BIOMIMICRY CHARRETTETo start a larger conversation between biologists, designers and businesses, we thought we could help by seating at least three BaDTs at three design tables of Designers Accord adopters across North America. We've tapped teams from three firms: Smart Design, New York; IDEO, Chicago and Boston; and Taller de Operaciones Ambientales, Mexico City. Each team will be paired with a Biomimicry Guild BaDT who will lead them through a two-day biomimicry design workshop as they work to solve a business problem, documenting their processes and reporting back to us in a little over a month with their bio-inspired solutions and how they got there.

   Now all we need to complete the puzzle is your company's challenge! Do you have a real-life design problem that you just haven't been able to crack? Do you have a system, material, structure, process in your business that's seriously in need of innovation? Explain your problem as clearly as possible in the form below, including what limitations have prevented you from being able to achieve your goals in the past. If we think your challenge is a good match for one of the firms, we'll contact you for more information. Your company could be featured on FastCompany.com as "clients" for one of three biomimetic challenges, and receive a solution for your problem--courtesy of nature, of course.

   If you have any questions, feel free to add them in the comments, and be sure to submit your challenge by 11:59pm PST, March 17, 2010. We'll see you back here in a little over a week with an update.

   SUBMIT YOUR DESIGN CHALLENGE

   If you have a design and sustainability story to share, let us know about it! Check out the brand new Designers Accord Web site. And follow us on Twitter @designersaccord to hear what the Designers Accord community is thinking about.

   Browse more Designers Accord Case Studies

   
   

   
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6. Most Japanese Shares Fall as Shippers Drop; Nisshin Steel Gains. Most Japanese shares fell after commodity-shipping fees slipped and a central bank report stoked concern deflation will hurt company earnings. Casio Computer Co. gained after a newspaper reported it will swing to profit. (03/09/10 09:00 PM)

7. Bali Bomber Suspect Dulmatin Killed, AFP Says, Citing Yudhoyono. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said police yesterday killed Dulmatin, suspected of helping plan the 2002 terrorist bombings on the resort island of Bali, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Yudhoyono in a speech in Canberra, Australia, today. (03/09/10 09:00 PM)

8. Toyota Reviewing U.S. Report of Prius With Stuck Gas Pedal. Toyota Motor Corp., struggling to regain a reputation for quality after unintended acceleration forced millions of vehicle recalls, will investigate a report in California of a Prius hybrid car that sped out of control. (03/09/10 09:01 AM)

9. Goldman Sachs Slashes Nexus One Sales Forecast to Around 1 Million.

   

   An analyst at Goldman Sachs has thrown a wrench into the works of Google's smartphone by downgrading the sales forecast of the Nexus One. Initial expectations were high: analysts had said as many as 3.5 million units would be sold in the first year. But with just 80,000 sold in the first month, according to mobile analytic group Flurry, figures have now been revised down to around a million.

   Compare and contrast this with other handsets. The first iPhone took 74 days to hit a million in sales; version 2, in 2008, took just three days (by this time, however, it was available pretty much worldwide). The iPhone 3GS version hit 1.6 million within a week.

   Moving away from Apple, which--let's face it--currently has the smartphone market all sewn up, how are other Android phones faring? Well the Droid, Motorola's last-ditch attempt to keep its head above water, flogged 525,000 through Verizon in the same month that the Nexus One was released. 

   And maybe this is what the first bona-fide Google phone needs: a network. It's interesting to note that, on the Nexus One website, the T-Mobile version ($179) is sold out, while the contract-free version ($529) is yours for the taking. There's no doubt that Google fluffed the launch back in January. There was a little bit of fluttery hype, but no announcements, no big fanfare, it was just unveiled, like any other product, around the time of CES, the tail-end of a bunch of Android OS upgrades. And then there was the customer service--or lack of it.

   Goldman Sachs indulged in a bit of stern finger-wagging in its forecast note. "We assume that Google rolls out a second Nexus handset, markets it more agressively, and makes it available offline, and therefore forecast that Google sells two million handsets per year in 2011 and future years." If that's not a Must Try Harder report card, I don't know what is.

   One gets the feeling that even Larry and Sergei are over the gPhone. Last week John Herlihy, Google's top guy in Europe, said that data mining was where the sexy jobs were at in Mountain View, although he took the view that smartphones were an essential tool for Google. Just not their own-brand ones, it seems.

   [Via Electronista]

   
   

   
   (03/09/10 09:01 AM)

10. Don't Be Afraid of Negative Reviews. The occasional negative review on online review sites, such as Yelp or TripAdvisor, is nothing to fear, according to a report by Forrester Research, which recently studied the issue. In its report,... (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

11. The Artful Entrepreneur. Anthony Ghattas has the life that many dream about; great wine, beautiful art, and friends in high places, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. In only six years, this serial entrepreneur has managed to build up a successful lifestyle brand United Lifestyle Group – including two galleries in Perth and Sydney and a burgeoning wine group – [...] (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

12. Trailers Are Optional. Approximately 2 years ago Brian Ohnemus create a boat rack that would carry his boat so he could still pull his camper. The idea worked so well that he decided to turn it into a business, reports the Quincy Herald Whig. “While getting all the gear ready for a weekend family camping trip, I realized [...] (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

13. BP: The Most Sustainable Big Oil Company?.

    

    Big Oil companies are inherently unsustainable. Petroleum is a limited and polluting resource, so any company that makes its money slinging gasoline probably shouldn't make it to the top of a list of green companies. Nevertheless, Two Tomorrows has attempted to rank the ten biggest fossil fuel companies in corporate responsibility using five categories: Strategy, Innovation and Leadership, Governance, Engagement, and Value Chain.

    The results:

    Rank Company Tomorrow's Value score 1 BP 59% 2 Shell 55% 3 ExxonMobil 46% 4 ConocoPhillips 43% 5 Total 42% 6 ENI 41% 7 Chevron 32% 8 GazProm 7% 9 Sinopec 7% 10 China National Petroleum 6%

    So how did BP score top billing? According to Two Tomorrows, the company takes stakeholder concerns into account, keeps its social and environmental performance transparent, and uses a third party to assess its sustainability report. All of the top companies have also invested in alternative energy to some extent. State-owned petroleum companies like GazProm, Sinopec, and China National Petroleum, on the other hand, are lacking in all of the aforementioned areas and don't exhibit any transparency related to the socio-economic impacts of oil exploration, refining and delivery.

    All of the oil companies on the list still have a long way to go before they can be called responsible corporate citizens. One hurdle that the companies still have to pass: addressing the ecological and socio-economic impacts of oil sands extraction. That ignorance probably won't last for long--green groups have brought the issue to the masses with a splashy tar sands awareness ad in the Oscar edition of Variety magazine. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has already been forced to respond, and individual oil companies can't be far behind.

    [Via Greenbiz]

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

14. Now PayPal Goes for Cryptome, Suspends Account.

    

    Two weeks after Cryptome.com had the plug pulled temporarily on it by host Network Solutions, it seems the site has run into more problems--only this time, with someone else. The site's current frenemy is eBay, who has suspended Cryptome's PayPal account and all donations received since February 24, around the time that Cryptome ran into problems with Microsoft, following publication of the software giant's guide to online surveillance.

    John Young, the New York-based architect who has run the site since 1996, has put details of his correspondence with the online payment firm on the site under the headline Cryptome Suspected of Money Laundering or Worse, and has asked his supporters to donate money by other means.

    Although it is not clear what precipitated PayPal's actions (although Cryptome has published a couple of the eBay subsidiary's lawful spying docs in the past) it seems that the company is preparing a Suspicious Activity Report on the Web site. All they would say to Young via email was, "We have observed activity in your account that is unusual or potentially high risk."

    [Via The Register and Cryptome]

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

15. The Home Office, Kids Edition.

    

    Kids and offices don't mix, right? Tempting though it would be to take a leaf out of Apple's book and employ my young charges--open up a blogging sweatshop, if you like--I think I'd be on the fast track to nowhere--I'd get sacked after the seventeenth pitch of Why Haribo Gummi Bears are So Grate.

    One of the most startling thing about having children around--and if you're working from home, they will be around at some point--is how much of an influence you are on them. I don't have children of my own, but my boyfriend has two--a 10-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, but more on them in a bit. And, in the year or so I've been around them, I've realized just how much they try and emulate what you do. So, they see you putting your make-up on to go out and before you know it, that gorgeous blond cherub who just sat down with a plate of fish fingers has made herself up to look like David Bowie in his Aladdin Sane period. They see you tapping away at a computer, they'll want to do it too. Which is a good thing--a great thing, actually, as there will come a time when they're able to sort out your IT woes and download all the latest Lawnmower Metal bands for you to listen to. The downside, however, is that they want, in the immortal words of Rob Reiner's mother in When Harry Met Sally, what you're having. And if that's a slice of your computer, then that's what they'll get.

    Anyway, back to my sorta stepkids. The eldest, Charlie, is an absolute whizz on the computer, so much so that every time he comes to stay he eyes up my iMac in a way comparable to how I imagine Hugh Hefner would behave on a visit to a sorority house at Gothenburg University. This has had two effects on our relationship. First of all, he has bonded with me in the only way that a 10-year-old geek (two in binary years) might. My shiny little computer is the holy grail of the household and, in the initial period of our relationship, became the center of a tug-of-love. He saw it as something to watch Doctor Who on, before he discovered the joys of e-commerce. "Can I have your credit card number?" was, I believe, the first sentence he directed at me.

    I, however, see my computer somewhat differently. For starters, it's the one thing in my house that enables me to earn a crust, so to say I am territorial about it is something of an understatement. Friends' toddlers have either vandalized or permanently knocked out of action the various decorative objects I've collected on my travels. A much-loved Seventies globe light I picked up in a junk shop in Berlin was smashed to smithereens at Christmas by a one-year-old, and you just have to shrug your shoulders, usher the kids out of the way of the shards of glass and get the Hoover out. But to knock my computer out of action would render me pretty useless.

    So, here are my seven golden survival tips.

    1. Earmark another computer for the kids to use. Given that the shelf life of a computer is, say three to five years (let's not forget those awfully persuasive marketing campaigns exhorting us to upgrade to a newer model), there's probably a good chance that there's an unused laptop kicking around the house. Failing that, ask your friends if you can take an unwanted laptop off their hands. Wipe everything off but the bare minimum, and hand it over to the kids. That's their computer for them to do whatever they want on it--well, within reason. Understand about firewalls. Don't, however, make the mistake of putting an old desktop in their bedrooms. Call me old-fashioned, call me a killjoy, I don't care. Just don't do it, unless, of course, you want your kid to act like he's got ADHD, as that's what sleep deprivation does to them.

    2. Close the door. If your home office has a door on it, then you're laughing. If it's got a doorframe, then you're halfway there. Introduce rules. Door open? Come on in. Door closed. Back off unless it's really important. You may want to consider getting a lock on the door--which works both ways, keeping you in and them out.

    3. Introduce strict times about when they can and can't use your computer. If you green light your computer for your kids' use, then there are a few things you should do. Give them a separate log-in and make it clear that they can't use your settings. That way they can't go in and wreak havoc with your desktop. No food or drink to be consumed around your computer. It may anger the wildlife. (That's you.) Make it clear that you have first dibs on the computer. If you need to use it, then they're off. Make sure your Google settings are on Safe.

    4. Keep them away from your most pristine (but hopefully not your only) laptop. My colleague Kit's MacBook Air suffered a severe malfunction when his son mistook it for a trampoline.

    5. Manage time. Having kids around forces you to be much more diligent about working to a timetable. Most of my work is done in office hours, but there are occasions when I have to work late. And that's hard if you've got kids. Either you down tools until they're in bed (which means you're stuck at your desk until your brain resembles mashed pumpkin) or you ask them if you can have an hour between when they get back from school and supper to work. If they've got homework, then that's the time for them to do it. Tidy away your paperwork before they get home. Important phone calls are done either when they're napping or out of the house.

    6. Back up everything. I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Back it up. With kids, accidents do happen, so, should the unthinkable happen and your work be sucked into a vortex of nothingness, then at least you've got a copy. It wasn't their fault, they were just trying to be like you. And if they go the trampoline route, then a decent home insurance policy can help. If you're a Machead like me, then it's worth paying a little bit extra for Applecare, which gives you three years' cover on your Apple products. I've had free batteries, new keyboards--and, in one case, a new casing around my laptop trackpad. It's saved me thousands.

    7. Give them an even bigger screen. Get a pile of DVDs and sit 'em in front of the telly. And buy yourself a pair of noise-reducing headphones. And if that fails, bribe them with Gummi Bears.

    [Images: deryckh (top image); Kit Eaton (baby)]

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 PM)

16. Eat-onomics: The Ten Most Inspiring People in Sustainable Food.

    

    Additional reporting/writing by Emilia Benton

    The way America eats has to change, that's no secret. Thanks to the efforts of these ten trailblazers, that change might be closer than we think.

    Dan Barber, executive chef and co-owner of Blue Hill Farm

    Barber is the brains behind the "Know thy Farmer" philosophy embraced at Blue Hill Farms. He was recently honored at the USA Network's Character Approved Awards for his achievements in "green" food cultivation and preparation. A passionate advocate for regional farm networks, Barber continues to practice what he preaches at his family owned farms, as well as with the nonprofit Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.

    Deborah Kane, Vice President of Food and Farms at Ecotrust

    Last month, Ecotrust began allowing Northwest food producers and buyers to utilize FoodHub, an online resource aimed to simplify their connections with each other and increase food trade in the Pacific Northwest. Kane continues to expound Ecotrust's mission to inspire fresh thinking that promotes social equity, economic opportunity and environmental well-being.

    Mike Yohay, CEO of Cityscape Farms

    Yohay's Cityscape Farms continues to work to produce great-tasting fresh food for local buyers with its hydroponic greenhouses. "Hydroponic farming is incredibly innovative and resource economical compared to conventional farming. It's well-suited for cities because you can do it anywhere," says Yohay.

    Gary Hirshberg, CEO, Stonyfield Farm

    In the past 26 years, Hirshberg has taken his organic yogurt company and turned it into an organic yogurt empire worth $340 million. Stonyfield Farm doesn't just deliver high-quality food to consumers, but pays farmers 60-100% more than conventional farmers, to ensure the use of sustainable farming practices. What does he ask of his customers? "When you shop, you're really voting for the kind of world you want. It is power," he says. "We should use that power for good."

    Roger Doiron, founder, Kitchen Gardeners International

    Doiron can proudly take credit for bringing a garden to the lawn of the White House with Eat the View, a campaign that rallied Americans' desire to see a healthier First Family. "I knew this garden had been proposed in the past, and it had its champions--Alice Waters, Michael Pollan," he says. "I wasn't a rock star like them, but thought I could play the role of a roadie, making sure the mics are on and the amps are cranked up to make sure other people's voices were heard."

    Jamie Oliver, chef

    The Naked Chef is on a mission to bring healthy food to every child in America. His campaign, Jamie's Food Revolution, aims to replace junk food and processed snacks with fresh and nutritious meals, in school and at home. ABC will air a six-part series tracking the campaign as Oliver heads to Huntington, West Virginia, which has been called the unhealthiest city in America. If Oliver can make Huntington healthy, he might be able to make America healthy.

    Melanie Cheng, founder, FarmsReach

    San Francisco-based FarmsReach pairs farmers up with buyers for sustainable local food systems, with plans to be nationwide by 2011. "If you look at statistics, farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture are awesome, growing distribution methods, but they still make up less than 1% of food volume sold in the country," she says. "That's why we're working with the wholesale channel, for distributors and bigger institutions."

    Michael Pollan, author, Food Rules

    Pollan's latest book, Food Rules, offers memorable tips on making wise eating choices. Pollan, who has been described as the nation's most trusted resource for food-related issues, his new book is showing Americans that "eating doesn't have to be so complicated."

    Dickson Despommier, Vertical Farms Project

    The Vertical Farms Project is the brainchild of Despommier, a professor at Columbia, and his students. Envisioning a world of sustainable farms housed in urban skyscrapers, the project proposes paying traditional farmers to simply plant trees on their land, in an attempt to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Crazy? Maybe. But it's inspiring more thought, more solutions.

    Robert Kenner, director, Food Inc.

    Kenner's documentary Food Inc. did its fair share of grossing viewers out by exposing the heinous slaughter practices (and eating habits) found across our country. More importantly, the film, which showcased leaders like Hirshberg, showed that it is possible to eat healthy and enjoy it.

    
    

    
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17. Best Buy to Partner With Panasonic, Push 3-D Televisions With Heavy Price Cuts.

    

    As reported by Japan's Nikkei newspaper, Panasonic is going to partner with retailer Best Buy in the US for a major push of 3-D technology. Best Buy brings the retail space, Panasonic brings the hardware, and presumably, customers will come, too--because Panasonic's cutting prices by almost 50% to entice them.

    Beginning this coming Wednesday, Best Buy will construct special exhibition areas for Panasonic's new line of 3-D HDTVs (both LCD and plasma, more on that below) in a few hundred of its biggest stores. The Nikkei reports that that number will expand to 1,000 stores by the end of the year--a lot, but Panasonic has big plans for these TVs.

    Panasonic's been hurting in the U.S.--it might be the fourth-biggest HDTV-maker in the world (behind Samsung, LG, and Sony) but in the U.S. it's also beaten by lower-priced brands like Vizio. In fact, Panasonic as a whole has been in the red for two straight years, and they're hoping a huge push on 3-D TVs will provide it. Even more, their plasma business has been severely underselling (as in all plasma vs. LCD sales numbers recently), and the company is hoping that plasma's inherent superiority for 3-D (thanks to faster refresh rates) will reignite enthusiasm for the tech.

    But what about those price cuts? Panasonic expects its entire line to cost at least 30% less than it does in Japan, and sometimes as much as 50%--they're expecting/hoping U.S. sales to make up a full half of their revenue in the coming year, so they want to encourage the tech as well as some brand loyalty as much as possible. The given example: a 50-inch set in Japan costs 430,000 yen, or about $4,800. Here in the States? $2,500. That's a huge slash, even considering electronics prices are often lower in North America than Japan, and might just lead to the kind of sales Panasonic needs.

    On the other hand, Avatar lost Best Picture--it's still possible that 2010, like 2009 and 2008, will not be the year of 3-D.

    [Via Wall Street Journal]

    
    

    
    (03/08/10 09:00 AM)

18. Green Groups Capture Hollywood's Attention With Avatar Sands Ad.

    

    One of the reasons why Avatar has been such a success (besides the mind-numbingly beautiful scenery) is that it has a simple story. The David versus Goliath plot can--and has already been--applied to situations around the world by activist groups eager to hitch their wagon to the blockbuster film. But the latest campaign by environmental groups including the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and Earthworks might be the most effective. The organizations have teamed up to purchase a full-page ad in the Oscar edition of Variety comparing the battle between Pandorans and the Sky People to the destruction of the Boreal forest to make way for oil extraction in the Canadian Tar Sands.

    Sierra Club Canada elaborated on the ad in a press release:

    The ad shows a 797B Heavy Hauler, one of the first trucks used to mine the Tar Sands, which is identical to some of the trucks used in Avatar . It also shows the vast open pit mines and tailings ponds that cut across what was once pristine Boreal forest--the same forest that stretched across Cameron's hometown in Ontario. "We want Hollywood, and the powerful thought leaders there, to know Avatar does a great job of exposing the Tar Sands," said Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director of Environmental Defence Canada, one of 55 groups that signed the ad. "It's the world's most destructive project -- Pandora's unobtanium is Canada's Tar Sands."

    Cameron probably didn't have the Boreal forest in mind when he thought up the plot to Avatar. But it's still a smart move on the part of anti-Tar Sand activists to make such a splashy statement in Variety. One sign that it's working: The ad has already managed to upset oil producers. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has quickly lashed back with a press release of its own.

    [Via Sierra Club]

    
    

    
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19. Konbit: A Skill-Indexing Communications Platform for Haitians.

    

    The recent earthquake in Haiti may not be at the forefront of our minds anymore, but the rebuilding process in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere has barely begun. Two students at MIT hope to move things along with Konbit, an interactive communications platform that lets locals report their skills via text, phone (voice input), or Internet.

    Designed by Greg Elliott and Aaron Zinman, the Konbit platform is intended to help Haitians announce skills that might be helpful in local recovery--i.e. construction or translation abilities. The service is completely language and medium neutral, which means that users' responses can be translated using either voice or text/Web services. All Creole messages will be translated by Haitians and inputted into a database for nonprofits to peruse. This is a crucial point--since 60% of Haitians are illiterate, Konbit would be almost useless if it couldn't translate voice messages.

    By giving Haitians the opportunity to advertise their services, the students hope that Konbit can prevent unnecessary outsourcing of labor. For a country that had ultra-high unemployment rates even before the earthquake struck, job opportunities to rebuild the economy are imperative.

    The MIT students plan to have a prototype ready to go this month. If all goes as planned, Elliot and Zinman hope to persuade Haitian telecommunications companies to get on board with the service.

    [MIT]

    
    

    
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20. Japan’s Stocks Rise on U.S. Jobs Data, Weaker Yen; Sony Gains. Japanese stocks rose after a better- than-estimated U.S. jobs report, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the euro region is ready to rescue Greece, and the yen weakened. (03/07/10 09:00 PM)

21. Asian Stocks, Euro Advance; Bond Risk Falls as Outlook Improves. Asian stocks rose to a six-week high and concerns about corporate defaults declined as French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday pledged fiscal support for Greece and reports from the U.S. to New Zealand showed sustained economic growth. The euro strengthened vs. the dollar and yen. (03/07/10 09:00 PM)

22. U.S. Stocks Rise as Jobs Report, Takeovers Lift Confidence. U.S. stocks advanced for the third time in four weeks, rising all five days, after reports on employment and consumer spending bolstered speculation that economic growth will extend a yearlong rally. (03/06/10 09:00 AM)

23. Mubarak German Operation a Success, State Agency Says (Update5). An operation today to remove Egypt President Hosni Mubarak’s inflamed gallbladder was a success, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported. (03/06/10 09:00 AM)

24. Chili Mix Entrepreneur Gets Noticed. At first glance Cindy Reed’s kitchen seems normal, however it is anything but that. For starters, the staff from ‘Throwdown with Bobby Flay’ walked through this very same kitchen at one point, reports MyFoxHouston.com. Wilkins is the only person to win back to back Terlingua International Chili Championships. She is also the woman who challenged [...] (03/05/10 09:00 PM)

25. Table: The School Rankings. (03/05/10 09:00 PM)

26. Jon Stewart Discovers ChatRoulette With Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Keith Olbermann, Mainstream America.

    

    Jon Stewart's great, really he is, but this is awfully disappointing. ChatRoulette? What is this, January 27th?

    That being said, the clip is really more about the ridiculous news coverage of ChatRoulette than the site itself, and after watching it, I've got to say that the criticism's warranted. "The hot new social networking site"? ChatRoulette is a social networking site in the same way Avatar is a contender for Best Picture--it's fine for what it is, don't get me wrong, and it provides some cheap, shallow thrills. And someone will figure out how to make money with it or co-opt it as a marketing tool momentarily. But let's not pretend it's anything more than a timewaster full of disturbing, unwanted, and unnatural sexual imagery--which the Daily Show's Jason Jones makes pretty apparent here.

    Anyway, here's the surprisingly long clip in question. The clip is hosted by Hulu (sorry non-U.S. readers), because it's not up on Comedy Central's site yet--a bad sign for the coming days when Viacom pulls The Daily Show and Colbert from Hulu.

    And kudos, as always, to Jon Stewart for his pioneering work in the field of Saying the Word "Dicks" on National Television.

    [Via Hulu]

    
    

    
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27. Single Mom Stretchs Her Way Into The Pilates Biz. When her marriage ended Alicia Kavon decided to go to school and finish her bachelors degree. With a major in dance and a minor in fine arts, she fully intended to become a dance instructor when she graduated. However, with a little nudging from her friend, she became a Pilates instructor instead, reports [...] (03/05/10 09:00 AM)

28. It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s A… Hovercraft?. Using parts from his family barbecue, parts from his wife’s car, and the control lever from his daughter’s motor scooter, New Zealand inventor Rudy Heeman has created a flying hovercraft, reports the Telegraph.co.uk. Looking like a conventional hovercraft but with the addition of detachable wings, the vehicle cruises at 56mph when flying, has a range of [...] (03/04/10 09:00 PM)

29. Marketing Manager Turned Jeweler. Laura Heiden was working as a marketing manager when she stumbled upon jewelry as a creative outlet, reports Postbulletin.com. Last year, the 33-year-old’s infatuation with jewelry lead her to Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco, where she enrolled in two, intensive two-month programs in goldsmithing and stone setting. While in San Francisco, Heiden realized that [...] (03/04/10 09:00 PM)

30. Yay for Seemingly Decent Unemployment News!.

    

    First the relatively good news: Job watchers ADP Employment Services are announcing that February was the best month in two years in terms of work lost. The New Jersey-based firm says some 20,000 jobs were shed last month, following a depressingly high 60,000 in January. And ADP does not track government hiring, which, as we all know, has been one of the few bright spots in the labor market, lo these last many months.

    Now the less good news: On Friday the Labor Department is apparently going to report that the unemployment rate ticked up to 0.1% in February to 9.8%. If true that would mark the first upward movement in four months. of arguably the indicator most crucial to a robust recovery.

    But more good news: Another employment-monitoring outfit, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says there were just over 42,000 jobs slashed in February, the lowest tally in about three-and-a-half years. And compared to February, 2009? Forget it! There were like 186,350 lost back then according to Challenger.

    If you are confused by all these divergent numbers, take heart: you are so not alone. There are almost as many ways to slice the data as there are companies not doing any hiring right now. Few of the unemployment figures out there, for instance, count job seekers who have simply given up and stopped looking. But! Let's stay positive here--and the truth is that when both ADP and Challenger are reporting steep drops in job losses, then we have to wonder: can spring's real green shoots be far behind?

    [Via: Bloomberg]

    Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deanmeyers/ / CC BY 2.0

    
    

    
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31. Crib Sheet: Stephen Carter, Alcatel-Lucent's New Marketing and Communications Boss.

    It's not just any old person who can get a job created just for them: God, perhaps, or Fonzworth Bentley, P Diddy's personal wielder of his Puffjesty's umbrella. Stephen Carter (Lord Carter of Barnes, to give him his full name) has just been slotted into a brand new job at Alcatel-Lucent.

    Carter, the former head of the U.K.'s telecom watchdog unit and a one-time minister to Gordon Brown, is moving to Paris next month for his latest role: Chief Marketing, Strategy and Communication Officer. Hmmm, have we ever had a CMSCO before? (Not unless you're a dyslexic fan of disco, methinks.) No matter, what he'll need to do is turn the Franco-American global telecoms company around when he arrives at company headquarters in Paris next month. How will he do it? Let's look to his past to find out:

    Alcatel-Lucent is already up against it. Its CEO, Ben Verwaayen, has already taken responsibility for last month's malfunctions on a high-speed network it built for New Zealand's Telecom Corp. But Carter, who started his career as a trainee for ad giant J Walter Thompson in the U.K. could be just the ticket.In a previous job he was accused of being "more interested in the product than the service," as well as not looking out for consumers. Better not tell that to the Kiwis.He's got serious top-level government experience--and contacts, which is probably why Alcatel-Lucent is taking him on--Gordon Brown took him on as a strategy chief and principal adviser in January 2008. But he didn't last long in government, as Andrew Rawnsley reports in his new book, The End of the Party, in October of that year he was given a peerage and moved to the Communications, Telecom and Broadcasting Department. Over to Rawnsley."He was undermined from the start by the old Brown clique. He bumped into Damian McBride, who saw him as a threat," says another of Brown's aides. "It was a turf thing. Stephen was a really nice bloke," comments one civil servant. "He just didn't know what he was letting himself in for. They made a decision to f*** this guy. By April, it was transparent to everyone in the building that this guy was dead."Before that, he was the first chief executive of the British Government's telecom and media watchdog, OFCOM. He'd cut his teeth in the broadcasting world as COO of U.K. cable TV company, NTL, where he had to deal with the NYSE-listed firm's Chapter 11 bankruptcy.And then there are the directorships: Royal Mail and Brunswick Group, and he's also a vice-president of Unicef. He's also a Labour donor, although after his exit from Number 10, that might have stopped.After resigning from the government last year, where he put together the Digital Britain report, there was speculation that he'd be asked to head up ITV, the U.K.'s commercial TV arm, which was going through a bit of a sticky patch. Some media insiders, however, begged to differ, as Carter's wife (and the mother of his two kids) is Australian, and friends thought she was angling for a return to her homeland. Mais non, he's off to France now.A prodigiously hard worker, Carter's effortless rise to become chief executive by the time he was 30, is put down to his puritanical Scottish roots. "He does things because he thinks he should," said a colleague of his at JWT. No hedonist either, he's always in control, and rarely socializes with his colleagues. However, as befits his directorship with a PR outfit, he does believe "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar."Other weird little factoids: Plays golf because it's a social tool, wears tank tops and drives a Mini. Oh, and if you like Minis, you might enjoy another ex-colleague's assessment of him, who compares his management style to Michael Caine's character in The Italian Job. "Right, we're going to work as a team. That means you'll do exactly what I say."

    [Via The Guardian and Wikipedia. Image Via The Independent]

    
    

    
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32. Where Will Our Electricity Come From in 2034?.

    

    We're constantly reporting on plans to build mammoth solar, wind, and geothermal installations. But in the end, will our increasing reliance on alternative energy even put a dent in overall power use? That's the question consulting firm Black & Veatch endeavored to answer recently. What the firm found is not all that surprising: the United States' primary source of electricity in 2034 will be natural gas--the least polluting fossil fuel, but a fossil fuel nonetheless.

    There is some good news, however. Coal-fired plants will make up just 23% of the mix, and renewables will grow from 54,000 megawatts to 165,000 megawatts, or 13% of overall power production. The switch to increased renewables won't be enough to reach Obama's goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, but the President's growing focus on nuclear power could help bridge the gap.

    But do we have enough natural gas to keep our power pumping? In an interview with Scientific American, Mark Griffith, head of Black & Veatch's power market analysis, weighed in:

    We're assuming that issues related to gas shales, environmental issues about groundwater, and the [general] use of water get solved. Those look like solvable issues that don't take a technological breakthrough. It's an expense that's incurred. I don't see gas shales having an insurmountable environmental problem that is expensive to fix. Of course, there are the unknown unknowns--you don't know...Gas-shale wells produce quickly and die young. You have to keep on drilling.

    So he sort of avoided the question. But with electricity needs expected to grow by 30% over the next 25 years, we better hope that there's enough cheap natural gas in the ground to keep us satiated.

    [Via Scientific American]

    
    

    
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33. Most Innovative Companies - China.

    

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    by Anne C. Lee (additional reporting by Kate Rockwood and Stephanie Schomer)

    

    Image courtesy of Suntech

    1. Huawei Technologies

    Now the world's second-largest provider of telecom equipment-thanks in part to its success in the Indian market-China's largest telecom company is at the forefront of the latest 4G mobile-phone technology. Top 50: No. 5

    2. BYD

    The battery giant's cutting-edge technology-notably its lithium-ion ferrous phosphate battery-makes the Shenzhen-based company a front-runner in the race to make mass-market electric cars. After marketing the first plug-in hybrid, BYD now expects to bring its all-electric E6 to market this year. Top 50: 16

    3. Alibaba

    Taobao, Alibaba's consumer arm, has more than 145 million registered members -- that's 43% of China's Web users. In 2010, Taobao plans to expand its empire by launching a Taiwan-specific online mall. Top 50: No. 29

    4. Huayi Brothers

    In October, Huayi Brothers Media Group joined ChiNext, becoming the first film and TV company in China to list on any stock exchange. On opening day, the company's stock rose 148%, putting the value of the production house at more than $1.5 billion. Huayi Brothers, which also manages some of the country's top talent, is partnering with Disney on Disney High School Musical: China, due later this year. Top 50: No. 42

    5. Tencent

    China's largest Internet company by market value, Tencent first became a household name for QQ, its instant-messaging software. It then leveraged its brand name to branch into gaming and online dating, helping it rack up its member count to 450 million -- more than either Microsoft's or Skype's messaging service in China. It ranks No. 5 in the world for the total hours spent on a Web site, and is the Chinese market leader in online games, with a booming market in virtual goods that helped boost third-quarter profits 93% year over year.

    6. Suntech Power

    Suntech's revolutionary Pluto technology decreases reflectivity of cells, ensuring that more sunlight is absorbed and increasing output to record-breaking levels. Its solar photovoltaic cells have a conversion efficiency of up to 19%, versus the industry average of 13%. This summer, Suntech is scheduled to open a plant in Arizona, becoming the first Chinese clean-tech company to bring manufacturing jobs to the U.S.

    7. Sohu

    In November, Sohu's Sogou search engine released a new input method editor that speeds up searches for Chinese speakers. Based on cloud technology, it lets users type search terms in Pinyin (the Romanization of Chinese) instead of laboriously entering Chinese characters. The accuracy rate for conversion is 90%. Sohu also pledged to remove pirated video content from its site and set up a fund to buy licenses for Hollywood movies and TV shows.

    8. Eno

    Since its start in 2006, Eno has become a go-to shopping destination for Chinese teens and a design outlet for Chinese artists (it's one of the few online stores that sell local designs). The company has been so successful in reaching the youth market that it recently launched a consulting firm to help companies such as Coca-Cola, New Balance, Kraft, Unilever, and Ticketmaster do the same.

    9. Ctrip

    China's leading online travel-services company caters to the country's rapidly expanding middle class as well as executives of foreign companies pursuing Chinese business. Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Sony, and Baidu have all tapped Ctrip's savvy corporate-travel program to track employee trips and save renmimbi. Revenue for 2009 was $291 million, up 34% from the previous year.

    10. Baidu

    The search giant lost clients in its transition to a new advertising system, Phoenix Nest, which lets clients track the effectiveness of their ads more closely than before and differentiates paid ads from authentic search results. (The company had been criticized for mixing the two.) Baidu should continue to dominate search in China, even if Google remains active there. Innovation All-stars

    
    

    
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34. Fed Biege Book: Snow Slowed Economy.

    The Fed recently released its latest Beige Book, a business survey that helps it decide on interest rates. Among other things, it found that snow hampered economic growth this winter. From the report: Consumer spending improved slightly in... Read more

    (03/04/10 09:01 AM)

35. Employee By Day, Greeting Card Entrepreneur By Night. It was at a party when Faith Saunders first came into contact with make-your-own greeting cards, reports My Central Jersey. “I got bored with what they were doing, so I just started making my own stuff,” Saunders said. Saunders said people had always told her she was creative, but she never really felt in touch with her [...] (03/03/10 09:00 PM)

36. A Cheat Sheet for Building Great Neighborhoods.

    

    In municipalities across the country, parking lots are getting reincarnated as everything from outdoor food markets to condos. But those are individual projects. In Long Island--itself a region so caked with traffic that people refer to its central highway, the Long Island Expressway, as one long parking lot--an ambitious plan to convince developers to infill thousands of acres of parking lots with stores and even homes is underway.

    The Long Island Index (LII), an advisory group that gathers information about local problems, and suggests ways to solve them, has decided that already dense, trafficky, overpriced, and overbuilt Long Island has as its most untapped resource the parking lot. In their 2010 report, "Places to Grow," the LII has charted specifically where houses and shops could replace lots that stand simply as temporary housing for cars.

    Could a Starbucks be coming to a former Starbucks parking lot near you? For the full story, including the interactive map (screen grab above) the LII built for potential developers, check out Grist.org

    
    

    
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37. Want to Know When the Israeli Army Will Knock Down Your Door? Check Facebook.

    

    You know when your boss has a quiet word with you about using Facebook on company time? That's nothing compared to the hell an Israeli soldier is now in: He Facebooked details of an upcoming IDF raid. And forced its cancellation.

    "On Wednesday we clean up Qatanah, and on Thursday, god willing we come home" is part of the offending text posted by the un-named soldier on his Facebook status update. He also revealed the particular Israeli Defense Force unit that would be heading into this particular West Bank village to arrest suspected militants, as well as the time it would take place. His Facebook friends reported him to the authorities (after all, what're friends for?) and he's now been relieved of duty. The operation, completely unsurprisingly, had to be called off.

    Quite apart from the shocking complacency and arrogance exhibited by the guy in question, the incident once again underlines how easy it is to overshare information using all the instant-access, real-time social tools we're all becoming familiar with. And the timing of this news couldn't be more ironic: Just the other day the Pentagon officially adjusted its policy on warfighters and officials using social networks--essentially permitting everyone to use apps like Facebook or Twitter. But commanders do retain authority to cut off Net access at key moments--such as before an attack is due--to prevent accidental leakage of information.

    What's really needed of course, is an awareness campaign much like the iconic ones used in wartime Britain to remind people that careless talk can reveal information to the enemy. The phrases are so far into the public consciousness they're still in occasional use now: "Loose lips sink ships" and "Be like Dad: Keep Mum!" (for the non-Brits among you, that's the same as keeping schtum.)

    

    [Via Haaretz.com]

    
    

    
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38. TweetMyJobs Moves in on Job Boards' Territory.

    

    Watch out, Monster.com, Twitter is becoming a job board.

    Last year TweetMyJobs, an online job service, started connecting job seekers and employers by tweeting job openings. On Tuesday, the company announced that its services recently helped IHG, the world’s largest hotel group, receive 18,000 highly targeted views of an available 1,000 positions.

    "You hear someone's using TweetMyJobs, and you might think they’re just hiring bellhops," says TweetMyJobs founder Gary Zukowski, "but they hired their director of finance through this service. It’s a very untapped market, and we’re actively trying to engage as many companies as possible."

    TweetMyJobs operates 8,520 targeted job channels based on location and skill set--if you’re looking for a sales job in Boston, there’s a specific channel for that. Those channels, plus affordability, have contributed to tremendous growth within the company, which was working with just 200 companies and tweeting 140,000 openings this past June, is now working with 6,000 companies, tweeting 1.2 million openings a month. A subscription starts at $4,000 per year, and allows companies to post any and all jobs. Smaller companies can post openings for $2 a day, or $20 for 30 days. Compare that to Monster’s 30 and 60-day rates of $210-$395, and Careerbuilder’s $419 fee for one job post, and it’s easy to understand the appeal.

    Forbes recently reported that companies just can’t afford expensive job posts, listing social media as one of the alternatives. "Only 30% of corporate job openings typically make it to the job board—70% don’t because companies can’t afford to send them all," says Zukowski. "We can post 100% for a nominal charge."

    Job seekers, who can follow the channels for free, can have appropriate openings sent directly to their mobile phones. TweetMyJobs is also developing tailored apps for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Droid, and plans to start geotagging all tweets. 

    "That kind of instant access," Zukowski says, "can be the difference between getting an interview or not."

    
    

    
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39. Do Something: Six Tips to Reinvent Non-Profits.

    Illustration by Frank Chimero

    Not-for-profit work is draining Nancy Lublin and driving passionate talent from the sector. What can we do?

    

    I'm burned out. No, not like the guy in high school who listened only to Led Zeppelin, kept a cigarette behind his ear, and bathed every fifth full moon. I'm talking about my career.

    It's not the workload or the relatively low pay; I like working hard and have declined more compensation. It's the not-for-profit sector that makes me crazy. And I'm not the only one who feels disgruntled: According to a poll by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, 45% of not-for-profit employees surveyed said their next professional move would be to leave the sector.

    What's the problem? The biz model destines us for burnout. We take people with big hearts and crush their souls; you sign on to help cure cancer and then leave because you're just shilling rubber bracelets. You want universal literacy, but the only way to move toward it is a big chicken dinner at a fancy hotel.

    If we want to keep good, sane, driven people in the field, we have to change. How? That's a long conversation or 10, not a column. (Email me your ideas.)

    In the meantime, let's start with three ways organizations can help keep staff in the sector.

    1. Don't be crazy. You want to eliminate homelessness? Nice. But a goal so huge -- and unattainable -- leads to disillusionment. Instead, set ambitious but realistic targets; perhaps it's finding housing for 20% of the homeless in your town this year. Then report regularly on progress and include bad news. Be frank with your staff and supporters so they know what more they need to do.

    2. Ground people; don't grind them. Offices kill dreams. Cause-y people need the rush of the front lines to remind them why the work matters. Do Something focuses on teens; once a year, I send my employees back to their high schools. That grounds them quickly.

    3. Give them a break. After two-and-a-half years at Do Something, employees can take a month-long paid sabbatical to do volunteer work if they commit to another year. The three who have accepted so far went to Mozambique, Costa Rica, and Nepal. All returned energized, with renewed perspective on doing good.

    Now here are three suggestions for unhappy worker bees.

    1. Don't go it alone. Some disaffected do-gooders start their own thing, imagining they'll be more satisfied -- greater control! greater impact! But that might be the most direct route to burnout. I know a famous women's-rights leader who left her huge platform in frustration and started her own organization. Now she's jostling with hundreds of other small groups. She's miserable, less effective, and realizes she should have worked to make her old organization better.

    2. Redecorate. The last thing you want at your desk is a photo of you and your significant other making googly eyes on your romantic summer vacation. That moves your focus off work. Instead cover your walls with job-relevant cues. Those could be copies of great letters you've received or even cheesy motivational posters. For me, it's a collection of my name badges from conferences I've attended, which remind me of the cool things I've learned and the amazing people I've met.

    3. Shut up. You think talking about it will make you feel better? That's a load of crap. Don't complain at work; it demoralizes your colleagues, who will further demoralize you. Instead, think of things to celebrate: great orgs, terrific people, change happening. Despite our problems, the do-gooder world is doing good. Be happy about that.

    I feel better already.

    Dress for Success founder Nancy Lublin is CEO of Do Something.

    
    

    
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40. Rounding Up Staff Ideas. Business owners are always on the hunt for new ideas — ways to cut costs, increase revenue, and improve products and services. Inc.com reports that often the most cost-effective source of ideas is right in front of you. “More companies are turning first to their employees to tap into those free ideas lying around in [...] (03/02/10 09:00 PM)

41. Fourth-Grader Has Nose For Biz. Not every fourth-grader hands out business cards. But Anna Ayres of Brookings does. Frequently during the school year and pretty much full time through the summer, Anna hands out her card as a hostess and distributor for Scentsy, a franchise that sells wickless candles, ceramic warmers and home-fragrance products, reports The Brookings Register. Why is a 10-year-old in [...] (03/02/10 09:00 PM)

42. Niche Biz: INeedAPencil.com. A junior at Harvard University, Jason Shah launched his SAT prep site INeedAPencil.com in 2006 when he was still in high school. Inc.com reports that the free site offers low-income students an alternative to pricier courses such as those at Kaplan and The Princeton Review. Students can log on to the site and choose from more [...] (03/02/10 09:00 PM)

43. Himfr.com Reports World Tungsten Industry Development Status and Analysis. (1) the consumption of tungsten International Tungsten Association statistics indicate that global consumption of tungsten showed the trend of steady growth year by year, 2002, 2003, 2004 and ... (03/02/10 09:00 AM)

44. Golf Resort Where Tiger Apologized Goes Bankrupt.

    The Sawgrass Marriott Resort in Florida, where Tiger Woods issued his famous apology, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Bloomberg reports: RQB Resort LP listed assets and debt of as much as $500 million each in Chapter 11 documents filed... Read more

    (03/02/10 09:00 AM)

45. Brewing Beer Byproducts Into Energy. The Boston Business Journal reports that Eric Fitch believes he’s found a way to brew success by turning the waste grain used to make beer into clean energy. His two-year-old startup, Purpose Energy Inc. in Arlington, is in the midst of constructing a 2 billion BTU digester adjacent to the The Magic Hat Brewing Co. in [...] (03/01/10 09:00 PM)

46. McDonald’s Tests Oatmeal. Want a side of oatmeal with that Egg McMuffin? AdAge reports that the McDonald’s Corp. has begun selling oatmeal at restaurants in Baltimore and Washington, as it looks to take a page from the playbook of rival Starbucks Corp. McDonald’s maple brown sugar oatmeal, which sells for $1.99, is topped with apples, raisins and cranberries and blended [...] (03/01/10 09:00 PM)

47. Mompreneurs Band Together. While there are many networking opportunties for women, it was becoming painfully obvious to Sherry Nouraini that not many of them were mom friendly, reports The Orange County Register. She used to be part of a women’s networking group, but when she missed a few meetings to take care of her daughter, members told her she [...] (03/01/10 09:00 PM)

48. Florist Confirms Each Bouquet With e-Photo. Trendspotter Springwise reports that one of the keys to e-commerce success is to ensure that customers know exactly what they’re ordering. That has been an elusive goal for florists, thanks to fluctuations in flowers’ appearance and availability; the result is that customers must typically take it on faith that they’ll get something similar to what [...] (02/26/10 09:00 PM)

49. Lizard Inspires New Adhesive Tape. Keep your eye on the shelves of your local hardware store, where you may be able to find new tape from an unlikely source: the gecko, reports The New York Times. Geckos have millions of microscopic hairs on their toes, each with hundreds of tips that adhere to surfaces, with no residue left behind,” said Kellar [...] (02/26/10 09:00 AM)

50. Pandora’s Founder Out Of The Box. Tim Westergren talks about Pandora’s place in the evolving worlds of music and technology in this report from CNNMoney. From Business Opportunities Weblog. (02/25/10 09:00 PM)

51. The Bloom Box. Large corporations have been testing a new device that can generate power on the spot, without being connected to the electric grid. Will we have one in every home someday? 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl reports. What do you think about the Bloom Box? Will the oil companies bury the technology? Does it sound too good [...] (02/25/10 09:00 PM)

52. Mom Inventor Cleans Up Sippy Straw Grime. It all started last year when Jennifer Reyes was trying to clean the gunk out of a sippy cup straw, reports kvue.com. “I had pulled out a moldy, icky cup from in the car that had been there for probably 2-3 days that I didn’t know had rolled underneath the seat,” she said. She tried cotton swabs [...] (02/24/10 09:00 PM)

53. Invention Saving Food for Those in Need. ABC News 4 reports finding a way to save food that’s still good for those in need. “It’s a chamber that we designed to do a non-destructive test on a can that was potentially suspected of having a leak or a seem violation,” said Rich Dabruzzi, a five year volunteer with the Lowcountry Food Bank and [...] (02/24/10 09:00 PM)

54. Making Wheels For Wheelchairs. CNNMoney reports that a 30 year GM veteran is applying his auto industry knowledge to a company that makes vehicles for the disabled. From Business Opportunities Weblog. (02/24/10 09:00 PM)

55. Stimulus Funding for SBA Loans Runs Out—Again. Photo by SBA. In a case of legislative déjà vu, the Small Business Administration has announced that funding for two popular lending programs is on the verge of running out – again, Emily Maltby reports in the WSJ. The government agency has encouraged lenders to make more loans to Main Street businesses by reducing the fees and [...] (02/24/10 09:00 AM)

56. Baby Planning Bizs Grow Despite Recession. It’s a niche still in its infancy. According to the National Baby Planner Association, about 60 businesses in the U.S. and abroad now identify themselves as baby planning companies, reports AOL Small Business. Within the last several years, the growth of baby planning seems to have followed the niche started by the explosion of the wedding planning [...] (02/23/10 09:00 PM)

57. Twitter Hits 50 Million Tweets Per Day. According to a story on Mashable, new stats released by Twitter reveal that users now send out more than 50 million tweets per day. That means every second, 600 tweets fly through Twitter’s network. As reported two weeks ago, Twitter saw more than 1.2 billion tweets in January, or around 39 million tweets per day. These [...] (02/23/10 09:00 PM)

58. Inventor Launches ‘Rock-It’. Heck with a better mousetrap. Jason Lucash, 26, is busy inventing compact products that help people listen to music. The Danville Express News reports that Rock-It, developed by Lucash, is a gadget that allows music fans to use any household object as a speaker – it’s the “first ever portable vibration speaker system,” explains Lucash. Hook it [...] (02/23/10 09:00 PM)

59. 100 Mbps Broadband. Excitement about the approach of the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan, due March 17, is inspiring ever more dramatic calls for greater high-speed Internet connectivity in the United States, reports arstechnica.com. This month, FCC Chair Julius Genachowski declared that the agency wants 260 million Americans hooked up to 100 Mbps broadband by 2020. Not to [...] (02/23/10 09:00 PM)

60. Mom Makes Sense Of Your Unorganized Mess. Look around your home office. What do you see? If you’re anything like Pamela Meyer than what you see is probably in need of a little organization, reports 9News.com. Then Meyer stumbled upon Angela Cody-Rouget, a professional organizer who runs a business called Major Mom. Cody-Rouget started the company in 2006, after serving 14 [...] (02/23/10 09:00 PM)

61. Freelancers: America’s New Workforce. Founder of the Freelancers Union Sara Horowitz explains why the self-employed are a bigger factor in today’s economy in this report from CNNMoney. From Business Opportunities Weblog. (02/23/10 09:00 PM)

62. March Madness For The Mind. The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) will host its annual March Madness for the Mind showcase of student innovation in San Francisco on March 27, 2010 from 10:00 to 2 p.m. PST at the Exploratorium® in the Palace of Fine Arts. PitchEngine reports the event is an opportunity for the nation’s top Excellence [...] (02/23/10 09:00 AM)

63. From Selling Mortgages To Selling Candy. CNNMoney reports that Tom Aspirino got so sick of working in the mortgage business that he decided to try his hand at candy making and so far it’s paid off. From Business Opportunities Weblog. (02/22/10 09:00 PM)

64. aden + anais Top Mommy Must-Have List. When Christine DeHaven’s son was only 2 months old, she decided to make a list of baby must-haves, reports the LA Times. On that list Christine put down the names of products that she felt were essential, including the blankets from aden + anais. She then passed that list on to her friends. “As a new [...] (02/22/10 09:00 PM)

65. Kevin Rose’s Tips For Entrepreneurs. Kevin Rose, Digg’s founder, spoke at Webstock in Wellington, New Zealand and covered 10 amazing tips for entrepreneurs, reports ReadWriteWeb. 1: Just Build It: You don’t need anyone’s approval and in fact, you probably won’t get it, so don’t even try. 2: Iterate: Build, release and iterate. Make a list of the features you want to create [...] (02/22/10 09:00 PM)

66. The Olympics’ Little Guys. CNNMoney reports that it may not be a gold medal, but don’t underestimate the importance of this little piece of neckwear at the Olympic Games. Every athlete and visitor at the Olympics will be hanging tight to their lanyard and the credentials it carries. Chums, a lanyard-maker based in Hurricane, Utah, sold about 10,000 lanyards to [...] (02/22/10 09:00 PM)

67. Southwest Ambivalent on Kevin Smith’s 2 Fat 2 Fly Challenge.

    Kevin Smith, best known for directing Chasing Amy and as Silent Bob in Clerks, was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight this weekend for being a man of size. The Wall Street Journal reports: Filmmaker and actor Kevin Smith...was reportedly... Read more

    (02/15/10 09:01 PM)

68. M2M Represents Opportunity for Mobile Operators. There will be approximately 412 million machine-to-machine (M2M) mobile connected devices in the marketplace by 2014, according to a new report from Juniper Research Limited. Although the M2M device... (02/12/10 09:01 PM)

69. FirstEnergy Buys Allegheny Energy for $4.7 bn.

    FirstEnergy, the country's fifth-largest publicly held power company, is buying East Coast power company Allegheny Energy for $4.7 billion. The result will be one of the biggest utilities companies in the country. Reuters reports: The... Read more

    (02/11/10 09:01 AM)

70. Toyota Reluctantly Recalls Prius Hybrids.

    In light of increased government scrutiny of its cars, Toyota has announced a worldwide recall of its Prius hybrids. The Wall Street Journal reports: Toyota's quality chief Shinichi Sasaki said at a press conference (in Japan) that the... Read more

    (02/09/10 09:01 AM)

71. Snail-mail blows away email for lead-gen. Would you email to a mailing list for lead-gen, or snail-mail it? We marketers of limited means (time and staff, as much as money) love the email tools out there. Fire up SurveyMonkey and/or MailChimp, and bam!–leads and responses. But we should reconsider our actions based on split-testing reported at B2BMarketingSmarts: Email lead generation — perception vs. [...] (12/08/09 09:00 AM)

72. Himfr.com reports In September chemical fertilizers in China exports continued to rebound sharply. According to the statistics, the first three quarters of this year 588.2 fertilizers in total export value of $its area is 17.4 million tons, respectively, compared with the same period last year (... (11/24/09 09:01 AM)

73. Update of My Free Social Media Ebook.

    Update of My Free Social Media Ebook
    
    This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

    Update of My Free Social Media EbookThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Social media and online marketing tools and tactics are an evolving lot. What was true last month may have a new twist this month. With that in mind I am happy to report that I’ve once again teamed up with the Microsoft Office Live Small [...] (11/24/09 09:01 AM)

74. Start Smart: A 10-Step Social Media Guide for B2B Marketers. There's no escaping it, marketers: Amid a flurry of headlines, bestsellers, and reports documenting social media's meteoric rise... the future has arrived. But for a B2B executive tasked with making sense of it all, wouldn't it be nice if the future came with a road map? Follow this 10-step guide. (11/17/09 09:00 PM)

75. Leading a sustainable enterprise . IBM recently released its 2009 report on sustainable enterprises, and the findings were similar to last year's: "Develop new sources of operational, supply chain and customer information to gain new levels of insight for meeting strategic sustainability objectives." Astonishingly, 37%... (07/02/09 09:00 PM)

76. Capital Factory Invests in Five Startups for 2009 Fund. As a co-founder and one of 20 mentors for Capital Factory, I'm proud and excited to get started our first year with 5 startups! Here's the release that we just put across the wire today! The program starts with these entrepreneurs May 22 going through August. And you can follow all 5 startups on Twitter! @CubitPlanning @FamiGoGames @Homstie @Hourville @PetzMD Capital Factory Invests in Five Startups for 2009 Fund Also Recognizes 5 Additional Finalists Austin, TX (PRWEB) April 22, 2009 -- Capital Factory, an early stage technology incubator in Austin, Texas, announced investments in five emerging technology startups selected to participate in its inaugural 2009 summer program. Each company will receive a cash investment of up to $20,000, more than $20,000 in free services, and mentorship from some of the top entrepreneurs in central Texas. The free services include office space, legal counsel from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosatti, public relations support from Porter Novelli, and accounting support from The Accounting Group and vCFO, among many other benefits. Investments: * Cubit Planning - Environmental reports at the click of a button * FamiGo - Mobile games that bring the family together * Homstie - Person-to-person marketplace for storage space * Hourville - A marketplace for services by the hour * petzMD - Website for Pet Health, from A to Z Capital Factory also recognizes five additional finalist startups that were top runners among the program applicants as well, including: * Infochimps - An open marketplace for data * Notesmart -... (04/22/09 09:00 AM)

77. Free Credit Report - Warning - Sponsored Link. Ad - Don't fall for "free" credit reports, follow a trusted source. (03/13/09 09:01 PM)

78. A five-step playbook that will optimize lead generation programs. Companies that adopt closed-loop lead management processes report higher return on marketing investment (ROMI) than those that do not, making this a key investment for B2B marketers. The challenge that many organizations face is that their lead management process is... (02/25/09 09:00 AM)

79. Looking for a little marketing wisdom?. Well, I’ve got, oh about a hundred suggestions for you all courtesy of MarketingSherpa’s latest Wisdom Report.Sherpa’s free report is filled with mini-stories from our colleagues in the marketing world who have learned through trial and error. The topics of... (02/25/09 09:00 AM)

80. Share your marketing 'wisdom' with Sherpa readers worldwide. I wanted to be sure to let you know that MarketingSherpa is gathering content for its seventh annual “wisdom report.” It’s a great opportunity for you to share your top 2008 story – and get back lessons learned from colleagues... (02/25/09 09:00 AM)

81. Social Marketing Operations Software Ideas -- The SMO "Wish List". Let's consider how businesses are run. Businesses are made up of process, policies, people and technologies. Results of anything are analyzed on how it impacts the P&L, in an effort to increase the predictability of results. Efficiency is measured and improved, with practices such as Six Sigma. Prioritization is ruthless as everyone has more to do in a growing (or struggling) company. People have objectives, goals and processes to follow. They have daily activities that they report on to management, and dashboards with metrics they are responsible for. There are actions, owners, and deadlines. And accountability is a must. People are rewarded on progress and impact. That is the DNA of most corporations.From my observation, this 'DNA' of measurement and operational management is not manifested in most social marketing circles of discussion. I'm on a hunt for them and am posting to this blog and Twitter account on this topic.There are great thoughts from friends like Peter Kim, Jeremiah Owyang, and Charlene Li / Josh Bernoff ("Groundswell"). Yet I still think we're skimming the surface for what companies need on the inside to better manage their social activities on the outside. If anything is going to be sustained inside a business -- including social marketing -- it has to be grown, maximized and optimized. You need process, policies, people and tools/technologies to do that. If you're managing social marketing for yourself or your business, the biggest challenge is where to spend your time, how to maximize your time, and how... (02/24/09 09:00 AM)

82. Third-party credibility ain't what it used to be.

    It used to be that we'd get the Good Housekeeping seal of approval and we'd dine out on that for months, even years to come. There was a time when the JD Power reports on "initial quality" (whatever the hell that really is) would be something that we could build an entire ad campaign around. Many of us can remember that industry certification, award or something similar, like ISO certification, that somehow gave us credibility beyond our wildest dreams.

    Those days are quickly showing up more in our corporate rear-view mirrors than in our forward-looking headlights. In fact, I predict that the day where we look on those awards with disdain, or at least indifference, is much closer than most companies would like to think. In fact, the shift from industrial and commercial third-party credibility, established back in the 40's & 50's, as the gold standard for credibility and validation to a much more personal, peer-based standard of validation is happing right under the noses of a majority of companies in all manner of industries.

    It's also happening in the financial sector where you have a number of rating agencies that give AAA, AA and other ratings to financial institutions and commercial enterprises that are increasingly "bought and paid for" and "shopped around" rather than earned through objective review and stringent standards.

    The currency of credibility in the marketplace has always been customer satisfaction, and customers have always voted with their dollars and their feet. However, the day is nearly here where those customers will completely usurp the power of the ratings firms, award givers and other long-held institutions of credibility.

    In a world where customer trust in fleeting and costs real, tangible dollars (according to this excellent post by Ted Mininni), we all need to be on our toes when it comes to building, maintaining and growing the level of trust and credibility that we have with our customers. After all, it's their peer-to-peer third party rating of our company that will be the ultimate in credibility currency for the future.

    
    
    (02/24/09 09:00 AM)

83. Social Marketing Operations Software Ideas -- The SMO "Wish List". Let's consider how businesses are run. Businesses are made up of process, policies, people and technologies. Results of anything are analyzed on how it impacts the P&L, in an effort to increase the predictability of results. Efficiency is measured and improved, with practices such as Six Sigma. Prioritization is ruthless as everyone has more to do in a growing (or struggling) company. People have objectives, goals and processes to follow. They have daily activities that they report on to management, and dashboards with metrics they are responsible for. There are actions, owners, and deadlines. And accountability is a must. People are rewarded on progress and impact. That is the DNA of most corporations.From my observation, this 'DNA' of measurement and operational management is not manifested in most social marketing circles of discussion. I'm on a hunt for them and am posting to this blog and Twitter account on this topic.There are great thoughts from friends like Peter Kim, Jeremiah Owyang, and Charlene Li / Josh Bernoff ("Groundswell"). Yet I still think we're skimming the surface for what companies need on the inside to better manage their social activities on the outside. If anything is going to be sustained inside a business -- including social marketing -- it has to be grown, maximized and optimized. You need process, policies, people and tools/technologies to do that. If you're managing social marketing for yourself or your business, the biggest challenge is where to spend your time, how to maximize your time, and how... (01/04/09 09:00 PM)

84. Third-party credibility ain't what it used to be.

    It used to be that we'd get the Good Housekeeping seal of approval and we'd dine out on that for months, even years to come. There was a time when the JD Power reports on "initial quality" (whatever the hell that really is) would be something that we could build an entire ad campaign around. Many of us can remember that industry certification, award or something similar, like ISO certification, that somehow gave us credibility beyond our wildest dreams.

    Those days are quickly showing up more in our corporate rear-view mirrors than in our forward-looking headlights. In fact, I predict that the day where we look on those awards with disdain, or at least indifference, is much closer than most companies would like to think. In fact, the shift from industrial and commercial third-party credibility, established back in the 40's & 50's, as the gold standard for credibility and validation to a much more personal, peer-based standard of validation is happing right under the noses of a majority of companies in all manner of industries.

    It's also happening in the financial sector where you have a number of rating agencies that give AAA, AA and other ratings to financial institutions and commercial enterprises that are increasingly "bought and paid for" and "shopped around" rather than earned through objective review and stringent standards.

    The currency of credibility in the marketplace has always been customer satisfaction, and customers have always voted with their dollars and their feet. However, the day is nearly here where those customers will completely usurp the power of the ratings firms, award givers and other long-held institutions of credibility.

    In a world where customer trust in fleeting and costs real, tangible dollars (according to this excellent post by Ted Mininni), we all need to be on our toes when it comes to building, maintaining and growing the level of trust and credibility that we have with our customers. After all, it's their peer-to-peer third party rating of our company that will be the ultimate in credibility currency for the future.

    
    (11/20/08 09:00 PM)

85. Insight for Ad Agencies - Listen or Go Back to Print.

    This is quite possibly the most timely and exciting article I've read as of late (come to think it, this I've been rather busy and this might be the only thing I've read of late...nope, this really is the best).

    Joseph Dumont penned a piece for Imedia entitled "Why Agencies are Failing" in it, he lays out several of his own observations that are founded in a report from Forrester (might be worth the $279 price tag if you're seeking some Forrester Research Therapy for your agency) and compiled from his keen insights into the agency world.

    This article really hits home as it comes at a time when I'm doing a bit of work with a few agencies that I regard with the utmost respect and I can't help but see some of their challenges echoed in this article. Those are the agencies that are truly students of advertising, marketing, customer behavior and have a genuine purpose in this world. They will succeed because they can learn, they can grow and like energy (you know, never at rest) they are always moving and changing and they're on the right path.

    On the other end of the spectrum are agencies who are truly stuck. They're afraid of stepping outside of their comfort zone, afraid to admit that they need help, don't have a mastermind group internally that's challenging their age-old positioning and their clients are suffering as a result by way of crusty old strategies, reheated ideas and basically an ignorance of the end customer that we're all trying to reach. Those agencies will fail a they aren't even on a path - they're standing still.

    Here are a few observations that I took from Joseph's article. I really recommend read though it with you highlighter handy - there are some real nuggets in there. If you're an agency, take this to your next staff meeting and discuss it. It's that important. If you like, buy the Forrester report (and tell me if it was worth it!)

    1. Damnit, get out there and do the hard work to really understand how your client's consumer has changed their habits, where they hang out and what they want to hear from you. Media kits are for armchair advertisers. You need to get out there, listen, react and move. Oh, and get your client's leadership and front line folks on the same page too. Customers are smart. They see through the disorganization.

    2. Watch political marketing. I've said this for years and I'll say it again "the harbingers of the next generation of marketing are working in politics". Watch all 3 candidates and how they leverage the digital space. Also, pay attention to their budgets. They're moving mountains and spending very little (comparatively) online...they reach the masses on TV and the influencers through digital (online) means...it's a great country we live in!

    3. Interactive does NOT mean Internet. It means really in-ter-acting... get people involved, acting and interacting and engaging. Most of what's called "interactive" is anything but.

    4. User generated content is not the holy grail. User generated genuine interest in a brand that excites consumers and pushes their 'loyalty button' is what we're really seeking. There are many UGC campaigns that are bolt on piles of crap... If UGC is not aligned with your brand and the only respondents are professional contestants, you should rethink things a bit. Just because it's cool doesn't mean it's you (or that an agency should sell it to you)

    5. I actually think that we're in pretty good shape - there is BRILLIANT marketing going on out there (just read iMedia, Marketing Sherpa and others to see the kick ass campaigns and strategies that are rocking the marketing world)...but there's always room to do better. Both agencies and internal marketers can't afford to get lazy. The entire profession of marketing is founded on a "faith in the future" perspective! That's why we market - for the future...so hurry up and let's all get there!

    
    

    
    (06/09/08 09:00 AM)

86. Insight for Ad Agencies - Listen or Go Back to Print.

    This is quite possibly the most timely and exciting article I've read as of late (come to think it, this I've been rather busy and this might be the only thing I've read of late...nope, this really is the best).

    Joseph Dumont penned a piece for Imedia entitled "Why Agencies are Failing" in it, he lays out several of his own observations that are founded in a report from Forrester (might be worth the $279 price tag if you're seeking some Forrester Research Therapy for your agency) and compiled from his keen insights into the agency world.

    This article really hits home as it comes at a time when I'm doing a bit of work with a few agencies that I regard with the utmost respect and I can't help but see some of their challenges echoed in this article. Those are the agencies that are truly students of advertising, marketing, customer behavior and have a genuine purpose in this world. They will succeed because they can learn, they can grow and like energy (you know, never at rest) they are always moving and changing and they're on the right path.

    On the other end of the spectrum are agencies who are truly stuck. They're afraid of stepping outside of their comfort zone, afraid to admit that they need help, don't have a mastermind group internally that's challenging their age-old positioning and their clients are suffering as a result by way of crusty old strategies, reheated ideas and basically an ignorance of the end customer that we're all trying to reach. Those agencies will fail a they aren't even on a path - they're standing still.

    Here are a few observations that I took from Joseph's article. I really recommend read though it with you highlighter handy - there are some real nuggets in there. If you're an agency, take this to your next staff meeting and discuss it. It's that important. If you like, buy the Forrester report (and tell me if it was worth it!)

    1. Damnit, get out there and do the hard work to really understand how your client's consumer has changed their habits, where they hang out and what they want to hear from you. Media kits are for armchair advertisers. You need to get out there, listen, react and move. Oh, and get your client's leadership and front line folks on the same page too. Customers are smart. They see through the disorganization.

    2. Watch political marketing. I've said this for years and I'll say it again "the harbingers of the next generation of marketing are working in politics". Watch all 3 candidates and how they leverage the digital space. Also, pay attention to their budgets. They're moving mountains and spending very little (comparatively) online...they reach the masses on TV and the influencers through digital (online) means...it's a great country we live in!

    3. Interactive does NOT mean Internet. It means really in-ter-acting... get people involved, acting and interacting and engaging. Most of what's called "interactive" is anything but.

    4. User generated content is not the holy grail. User generated genuine interest in a brand that excites consumers and pushes their 'loyalty button' is what we're really seeking. There are many UGC campaigns that are bolt on piles of crap... If UGC is not aligned with your brand and the only respondents are professional contestants, you should rethink things a bit. Just because it's cool doesn't mean it's you (or that an agency should sell it to you)

    5. I actually think that we're in pretty good shape - there is BRILLIANT marketing going on out there (just read iMedia, Marketing Sherpa and others to see the kick ass campaigns and strategies that are rocking the marketing world)...but there's always room to do better. Both agencies and internal marketers can't afford to get lazy. The entire profession of marketing is founded on a "faith in the future" perspective! That's why we market - for the future...so hurry up and let's all get there!

    
    

    
    (05/29/08 09:00 PM)

87. FedBizOpps Notification Service.

    If you do business with the federal government or if you want to get into government contracting, you probably know about FedBizOpps or the Federal Business Opportunities website. FedBizOpps is where most, but not all, government agencies post procurement notices for goods and services valued at over $25,000.

    At the website, you can look up procurement notices by specific agencies or you can search for them by key words or other criteria. If you find a procurement notice that interests you, you can sign up to receive e-mail notification when, for instance, a full solicitation is released or when an amendment is issued for that particular product or service. When I'm working on a proposal for a client, I always look it up on FedBizOpps and sign up for it so that I'm notified when an amendment comes out.

    You can also sign up to be notified of all solicitations or synopses issued by a particular agency. For example, since I am interested in USAID contracts, I get an e-mail nearly every day that lists all new USAID synopses and solicitations that have been posted by that agency.

    To sign up for the FedBizOppos notification service, go to the website and click on Vendor Notification Services on the right-hand side, under "Related Links."  You'll then be taken to a page where you can select from the following options:

    1. Register to receive all notices by solicitation number.
    2. Register to receive all notices from selected agencies and product service classifications.
    3. Register to receive all procurement notifices.
    4. Register to receive a report of all vendor notification registrations.

    One of the problems with this notification service is that there is no option to receive notifications by key words. So, if I am interested only in USAID contracts that relate to HIV/AIDS, I can't tell FedBizOpps to just send me notices that have something to do with that topic. Instead, I receive all notices about USAID contracts, whether or not they pertain to HIV/AIDS.

    One way to get around this problem is to sign up with a private bid notification service. That will be the topic of my next post.

    (03/27/08 09:00 AM)

88. Announcing Jack Tyler Decker. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MANAGEMENT SHAKEUP AT DECKER HOUSEHOLD Jack Tyler Decker Appointed New CEO AUSTIN, TX (MARCH 6, 2008) -- The Decker Household announced today the arrival of its new CEO, Jack Tyler Decker. A 9-month veteran of fast-growth environments, Jack took control of the family startup on Friday, March 6 at 5:42PM CT. In a management shakeup, the 21 inch, 8 lb. 11 oz tycoon appointed Shannon Decker to report directly to him as President of The Household. Shannon's promotion came after hard labor disputes for a few hours just prior to his appointment. Sam Decker, who had worked many years to gain peer status to the new President, has been demoted to special assistant to Shannon and her supporting staff, Kyle and Haley Decker. Jack had started his 9 month rise to control since June 7…or maybe June 8 or 9, 2007-- analysts cannot confirm the date. Jack had an inside track to the position ever since. The new CEO is expected to work around the clock. His duties will consist of sleeping, eating 8 meals a day, and making many daily deposits into plastic envelopes. Shannon and Sam, in their new roles, will act quickly on directions from their new boss to achieve his desired career growth. On the day of his arrival, the CEO wasted no time crying out instructions to her new staff, and was already making small deposits. Jack Decker, with a simple coo and finger suck, immediately got his team to swing into... (03/07/08 09:00 AM)

89. Referrals From Great Sites.

    Every once in a while I take a look at the Google Analytics reports for my website. These reports provide detailed statistics about the number and type of visitors to a site, where they came from, what pages they visited, etc. The reports contain a lot of data and take a while to review, which is why I only look at them occasionally.

    But one of the reports I do like to look at is the Referring Sites Report, which indicates which sites referred people to my site via a link. And if you are interested in grants (both government and non-government grants), grantwriting, or grant research, you'll want to take a look at some of the websites that send the most visitors to Proposalwriter.com . Among my top 10 referring sites are:

    • The Grants Information Collection at the University of Wisconsin. This fabulous site has a wealth of information on grants, funding, and other related topics. I'm delighted to say that they link to my site on four different pages. They have consistently been my #1 referral site.
    • My #2 referral site is The Foundation Center, which sends visitors to my site via links on 3 of their many pages. If you want grant-related information from the nation's leading authority on non-profits, The Foundation Center's site is one of the first places you should investigate.
    • The third site that sends the most visitors to my site is the US House of Representatives. Somewhere among the its many pages there has been a link to my site for several years. Except I don't know where it is, and oddly enough the link is to my Guestbook. I've never taken the time to try to figure out how people get to my site from this site.
    • #9 on the list is the University of Michigan's Proposal Writing Help Page, which of course contains info and links on proposal writing.

    In addition to Google Analytics, I use Google Webmaster Tools to find out how many other sites have links to mine. At present, Webmaster Tools shows that there are over 4,100 external links from other sites to the various pages on my site. But this number seems to include quite a few dupicates, so it's hard to tell what the real number is.   

    Nevertheless, I'm pretty satisfied.

    (03/06/08 09:01 AM)

90. Future of Online Retailing -- Four Predictions. Forrester and Jupiter report that more than 70% of online shoppers seek out user reviews before making a purchase decision. MarketingSherpa reports that 84% of consumers prefer the opinion of other consumers vs. experts. Hundreds of retailers including WalMart, Best Buy, HP, and the Home Depot have followed Amazon’s lead by allowing their consumers to review products in the online channel. Consumers demand social commerce solutions and retailers are driving measurable results. As consumers are presented with increasing choices, channels, and messages, they will continue to turn to peers to discover, research, and make decisions about products and services. Retailers will need to utilize technology and best practices to provide authentic, relevant, and effective social commerce solutions to retain their customers into the future. 1) SOCIAL CONTENT IS GOING MULTI-CHANNEL The future of reviews and social content is going beyond the product page and into other channels such as mobile phones, kiosks, print collateral, online advertising, and social networks. It is clear that consumers rely on social content to make purchasing decision. They will expect to be able to access to this content regardless of channel in order to inform their purchasing process. The retailers that provide this multi-channel access will develop competitive advantages in their markets to attract and retain consumers. Additionally, more retailers will see the value of integrating social commerce with CRM and other “back-end” channels. Retailers will start to leverage social content as a key input into driving decisions in marketing, sales, advertising, customer support, and... (12/09/07 09:01 PM)

91. Prioritize Like a P&L. Today I was having lunch with a friend who is VP of Marketing for a local startup. Small budget, lots to do...how to prioritize? In my experience, when you're trying to grow revenue as fast as possible with little time, money and resources, it's important to think about the after-launch resources a program will take. Think about any program or initiative as an ongoing P&L. The best projects will have sustaining value, like a business that has sustaining profits. In fact, you should first think about the projects that have a clear and direct impact on revenue or cost savings. Can you answer the question: "This program/initiative will have an impact on our bottom line because..." The biggest mistake in selecting programs is the costs of sustainment. Usually things get set in motion that take human capital as part of the processes. The ideal projects are those that are set in motion, sustian and/or grow in impact over time and require little resources to sustain. Many projects I've launched that risked failure and often got orphaned are those that required ongoing program management time and processes. If it was part of an existing process it was easier to absorb. Creating new processes, owners, measures, reporting, etc. and sustaining all of this is an investment – COGS and Opex in a P&L. Sometimes it's worth it...but most of the time we underestimate the cost of sustainment. So, look for the projects that can 'blossom' on their own. For example, customer created... (10/19/07 09:00 PM)

92. Yahoo Prez Susan Decker Bets $1 Million On Its Stock. Yahoo President Susan Decker is buying up shares the company's beaten down stock (YHOO), to the tune of $1 million. CNNMoney reports:The buy was Decker's first ever open-market stock purchase, according to filing tracker InsiderScore.com, and came one-day after the stock fell to $22.44 - its lowest level since March 2004. Decker's buy was just the fourth by any Yahoo insider in more than four years; and, the largest by any Yahoo insider in more than four years, InsiderScore analysts wrote in a research note FridayThat's quite a vote of confidence. Is she just trying to shore up the stock, or does she know something we don't?... (08/10/07 09:01 AM)

93. New York Times' Web Growth Doesn't Make Up For Print Decline. In what's becoming an all-too common theme among old-media companies, the New York Times reported a 5.7 percent drop in overall ad revenues and a 59 percent drop in operating profits. The one bright spot: it's Web properties, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com, and About.com, saw a 23.4 percent rise in revenues. But it's $81 million in revenues only makes up 10 percent of the company's overall sales, and is still not enough to counter the decline in print. Still, operating profits at About.com alone ($8.5 million) represent 38 percent of the company's total operating profits. Web revenues don't have to rise tenfold before Web profits can offset the decline in print profits. But with online ad growth expected to slow at the Times, it could still be a while.... (07/25/07 09:01 AM)

94. Facebook Widget Makers See Traffic Rise on Home Sites. Does it pay to make a custom app for Facebook? Some of the top widgets on Facebook from companies like Slide, RockYou, and HotorNot appear to be driving significant traffic back to the home sites, reports VentureBeat. It makes sense. Widgets tend to have limited feature sets and act as teasers to go to a bigger site. The question is whether traffic measurement sites like Quantcast incorporate widget traffic in their overall stats or just look at teh main sites. (Anyone know the answer to that, please tell us in comments). Compete shows a similar trend, but Alexa doesn't show quite as dramatic a jump (and actually shows HotorNot declining slightly). Still, if 10 million people added Slide's Top Friends widget onto their Facebook page, chances are a fraction of them will go and check out what else Slide has to offer. At the very minimum, widgets can be a powerful form of marketing. Once companies figure out how to make money inside the widgets themselves, then we might finally see the beginning of a true Facebook economy.... (07/24/07 09:01 AM)

95. Facebook Group Wants to Save Business 2.0. Speaking of Facebook, ever since the New York Times reported earlier this week about the potential demise of Business 2.0 (my employer), a group has spontaneously formed on Facebook to try to save it. In the span of a few days, it's grown to more than 880 members, including folks like Walt Mossberg, Michael Arrington, Om Malik, Reid Hoffman, and Craig Newmark. Thanks to everyone who has joined. As my boss, Josh Quittner, says: It choked me up -- an old cynic like me. I know the internet has saved some TV shows. I've never heard of it saving a magazine. If you are a fan of the magazine, please join the Facebook group to voice your support. Traditional business advertising may be in a slump, but it is gestures like these that get noticed by advertisers (and the higher-ups here at Time Inc. as they decide the fate of Business 2.0).... (07/20/07 09:01 PM)

96. Ning Raises $44 Million. Gina Bianchini Originally uploaded by jdlasica Gina Bianchini, No. 48 on B2.0's 50 Who Matter list, is smiling now. As Ning's main backer Marc Andreessen reports, the startup has just raised $44 million from Legg Mason and others. Andreessen threw some more of his cash into the venture as well. Ning lets people build their own social networks, and 73,650 have done so to date. (Many of those social networks have only the person who built it and his dog as members, but that's another story). Here's a CNN video about Ning where I explain how Bianchini made it on the list.... (07/10/07 09:01 AM)

97. Apple Takes Its Bite of iPhone Mobile Service Fees. iPod Originally uploaded by stublog In the competition to carry the iPhone in Europe, it looks like Vodafone (VOD) is balking at Apple's demands; The Guardian reports:Apple is understood to be demanding that its European mobile phone partners hand over a significant proportion of revenues generated by the iPhone and restrict the content that users can access.The portion of network revenues demanded by Apple is believed to have been behind Vodafone's decision not to sign up as the exclusive partner for the iPhone in the UK. ... The iPhone is expected to launch in November in the UK through O2, in France with Orange and in Germany with T-Mobile.So not only does Apple (AAPL) keep all the revenues from the $500 iPhones, but it gets a cut of the monthly service fees as well. I guess even (most) hard-nosed telecom execs have a hard time saying No to Steve Jobs. But if this report is true, good for Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin for sticking to his guns. Update: Another tidbit about the economics of the relationship between Apple and the mobile carriers. Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner models iPhone revenues for Apple to include the entire $500 average selling price plus a $100 bounty from ATT. (This is from a June 28 note of his). Gardner does not model in any cut of the monthly subscription revenues, however. (The $100 bounty would be more like a typical subsidy). So if Apple is also getting part of ATT's monthly fees, not to... (07/06/07 09:00 PM)

98. [Tom Peters] Last Impressions Come First!. http://www.tompeters.com/blogs/main/007299.phpNobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman (a psychologist who won the Economics Nobel) tells us, as reported in the February 2005 issue of Psychology Today, that our memories are very selective. In particular, no matter how extended an event (party, commercial transaction),... (12/12/06 08:04 AM)

99. Mondays Contract Management News and Comment (28th August 2006). Abu Dhabi Ports Company announces the awarding of program management contract for Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (Mena Report) The Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) announced today the appointment of International Bechtel Company Limited (IBCLTD) to act as Program Managers for the development of Khalifa Port & Industrial Zone (KPIZ). The ... (08/28/06 09:03 PM)

100. Running a Report in ACT! 2005. The following steps apply to all ACT! reports. The dialog box is the same for all reports. Depending on the report that you're running, however, some of the options may be unavailable and thus appear ...
     
     (08/24/06 09:00 PM)