There has been a lot of talk as to whether or not social media is the front runner in another inflated internet bubble waiting to burst, leaving users “virtually” friendless and clueless. Will everyone be out of the loop, with no one keeping track of daily deals, happenings or status updates? Warren Buffet confirmed this fear stating that although it’s not as big as the dot com bubble, social media is not long term by any means. However, industry trends and buyer behaviors are stating otherwise.
Facebook has proven beneficial to marketing efforts for B2C companies, but B2B marketing has struggled to find its footing on the platform. That’s where LinkedIn has emerged as the go-to medium for B2B marketers.
A recent study done by BtoB Magazine, showed that when asked “Which of the following social media methods does your company currently use for your B2B marketing (i.e. not personal use)” 72% of B2B marketers said LinkedIn. After reaching more than 100 million users, LinkedIn has solidified its niche as Facebook in a business suit, and B2B companies have taken notice.
The 2011 State of Inbound Marketing (an annual report done by HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company) found that 61% of B2B marketers who participated in the survey acquired a customer through LinkedIn. The targeted and measurable aspect of inbound marketing is what makes it so attractive to smart business owners who are tired of spending money on marketing with no proof that it’s working. Former Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s, M. Lawrence Light said, “It no longer makes economic sense to send an advertising message to the many, in hopes of persuading the few.”
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Georgia Bulldogs outfielder Johnathan Taylor has partial paralysis
Georgia outfielder Johnathan Taylor, who broke his neck while colliding with a teammate in a March 6 game against Florida State, is paralyzed from the waist down but showing signs of improvement, his doctors said.
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NBC <b>News</b>, CNBC, MSNBC All Particpating in NBCU's 2011 'Earth Week <b>...</b>
The networks of NBC Universal, including CNBC, MSNBC and NBC News, are all lining up green-themed programming for the 2011 installment of the company's Green is Universal “Earth Week” April 17-24. On “Today” Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda ...
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Big Media Falls for GE <b>News</b> Hoax (Cont'd) - Giovanni Rodriguez <b>...</b>
The Week takes a short look at what yesterday's GE news hoax may have actually accomplished: --"It was a glimpse of an ideal world." Idea here is that the fake storyline might have helped people imagine a world where businesses "biggest ...
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Apple has reportedly become more aggressive in securing components from overseas suppliers, making moves such as upfront cash payments to both ensure supply and block out competitors.
Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said in a note to investors on Thursday that Apple began "aggressively attacking" the component situation in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country. The iPhone maker reportedly sent executives to suppliers immediately to ensure adequate supply of components, and also began offering upfront cash payments.
Separately, White's contacts in Taiwan also revealed that Apple is allegedly securing component capacity using what is known as a "three cover guarantee," referring to capacity, stock and price. Apple's move is seen as one that could potentially block out competitors and prevent them from building ample supply of devices.
The information comes as a separate report out of the Far East suggested that a one-month delay for Research in Motion's PlayBook tablet was as a result of Apple securing most of the available touch panel production capacity. The delay has forced the PlayBook to go on sale after Apple's in-demand iPad 2.
Last month, it was said that Apple could agree to price hikes in order to secure touch panel supply, particularly in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake. Apple was said to be in talks with component makers about touch panel pricing, and allegedly considered some price increases in negotiations.
In the company's last quarterly earnings call, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook revealed that Apple had invested $3.9 billion of its nearly $60 billion in cash reserves in long-term supply contracts. He declined to reveal what components Apple had put its money toward, citing competitive concerns, but said that it was a strategic move that would position the company well in the future.
Analysts largely believe that the secret investment was related to touch panel displays that are the centerpiece of devices like the iPhone and iPad. One cost breakdown estimated that such an investment could secure Apple 136 million iPhone displays, or 60 million iPad touch panels.
It's a move similar to 2005, when Apple inked a major deal with Samsung to secure longterm supply of flash memory. NAND flash would go on to become a major part of Apple's products, including the iPhone, iPad and new MacBook Air.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said in an interview this week that he would consider returning to an active role at the company he helped start if asked.
During an interview in England this week, Wozniak said, "I'd consider it, yeah," when asked whether he would play a more active role if asked, Reuters reports.
Wozniak, Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computer in 1976. Wozniak left his full-time role with the company in 1987, but remains an employee and shareholder of Apple.
Since leaving Apple, Wozniak has been involved in a wide range of entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavors. He currently serves as Chief Scientist for storage company Fusion-io.
Meanwhile, Jobs is currently taking an indefinite leave of absence to focus on his health, though he remains CEO of Apple and continues to be involved in strategic decisions.
Wozniak, who has widely been acknowledged as the technical genius behind Apple's early success, believes that he has a lot to offer the company he helped start, which went on to become the world's second-largest company in terms of market value.
"There's just an awful lot I know about Apple products and competing products that has some relevance, some meaning. They're my own feelings, though," Wozniak said during the interview.
When asked his opinion on Apple today, Wozniak praised the company for its track record with recent products. "Unbelievable," he said, "The products, one after another, quality and hits."
Even so, Wozniak admitted that he'd prefer Apple's devices to be more open, so he can "get in there and add [his] own touches." Last December, Wozniak revealed that he had purchased a DIY kit for the iPhone 4 and "modded" the device into the as-yet-unreleased white version.
"My thinking is that Apple could be more open and not lose sales," said Wozniak, while adding, "I'm sure they're making the right decisions for the right reasons for Apple."
Wozniak has been committed to openness since the beginning. In December, Wozniak told reporters that he didn't design the original Apple I to make a lot of money and had given the designs away for free after his former employer HP showed no interest in the computer.
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During today’s Google earnings call, one analyst asked for some color on Google’s mobile business. CFO Patrick Pichette didn’t give much more in terms of specifics, but he did offer up some color. “Without any radical effort, we already announced at end of Q3 this is a $1 billion run-rate business,” says Pichette. Mobile is “growing at an amazing blazingly pace,” he says. “We tripped into $1 billion.”
Mobile search is definitely something Google is keenly focussed on. Senior VP of Local Jeff Huber noted on the call: ” In terms of where it trends over time, the smartphone is becoming an extension of the person, and how they do everything.”
Google is tackling that opportunity with mobile search obviously, but also with Android, which comes with Google search built-in as the default. Google is seeing 350,000 Android devices being activated a day.
Asked whether Google would have to build out a local salesforce with feet on the ground to take advantage of the new mobile and local advertising opportunities, sales chief Nikesh Arora didn’t rule out any possibilities. “we will use a combination of existing sales teams and methods and others that might be required,” he responded. Sounds like Google is picking itself up and going after the next billion dollars or two in mobile search.
Photo credit: Flickr/ Jeffrey Beall
Kevin’s post and David Glenn’s story are deeply troubling in so many aspects that it’s hard to pick out which ones are the worst. The popularity of the business major, the low work-demands made of students, the quirky assignments and exams . . . they add up to, well, what we get as documented in Academically Adrift. That is, low learning outcomes, little coordination between pedagogy and outcomes, and meager effort on the part of students.
But something else in the story bears highlighting, and it might go to the heart of the problems of the business major. In their analysis of CLA scores for undergraduates, Arum and Rooksa found that business majors score the lowest on writing-and-reasoning skills improvement while in the first two years of college.
A big problem, indeed, when set alongside another statement made by Glenn at the end of the piece: “According to national surveys, [employers] want to hire 22-year-olds who can write coherently, think creatively, and analyze quantitative data.” Note what comes first: the writing. We hear it in just about every survey I’ve seen which asks employers about problems or needs in the workplace. They always emphasize communication skills, particularly writing skills. In sum, businesses need competent writers who draft clear prose. Not PowerPoint slides, spread sheets, or Web sites alone, but prose for reports, correspondence, agreements, white papers, etc. Not collaborative composition only, but solitary composition, too.
That’s the reality, but in Glenn’s story, I found only one case in which the examination of writing quality was emphasized, the University of Viriginia’s business school.
Why doesn’t it come up all the time?
Obviously, because writing is a labor-intensive activity for student and for professor. Assign each student a 15-page white paper on some subject or another and the workload for everyone rises considerably. For the student, it means paying attention to punctuation, diction, transitions, and structure, not to mention pursuing one line of thought through 3,000 words. For the professor, it means grading punctuation, diction, transitions, and structure, not to mention one line of thought through 3,000 words.
It is precisely the kind of training that business majors need and employers prefer, but it looks just too darn onerous for students and for teachers. Even if students end up on the job writing more PowerPoints than long papers, the training in prose composition in school pays off.
We should guard against an assumption cited in the article that what people will do in the workplace should be replicated in the classroom. This is to align training and the thing you will eventually do too closely. Students should write papers that are longer than the things they will have to write in the workplace. They should spend more time alone than they will in the workplace. Training should always require practices that exceed the tasks that need to be handled later on.
If business school leaders wish to improve learning outcomes and raise the workplace readiness of graduates, they have a simple option: require a year-long composition course at the beginning of the major. That course should focus on prose and should minimize collaborative work.
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Wii 2 to be revealed at E3 – report <b>News</b> - Wii - Page 1 <b>...</b>
Read our Wii news of Wii 2 to be revealed at E3 – report.
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Daily Kos: Fox <b>News</b> ties suicide to Obama speech
But with the other option being to talk about the Republican plan to abolish Medicare, apparently politicizing this young man's death looked a whole lot better to Fox News. Pathetic. (h/t Balloon Juice) ...
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