Apparently, eBay is milking all it can out of its "It" campaign. According to Marketwatch, they are seeking trademark infringement protection from an online auction site called World Auctions Inc.
eBay is alleging that World Auctions blatently copied phrases and colors that were similar to eBay's uses of the word 'It'. eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said "There are numerous features on this site that are strikingly similar to those of our site."
In an effort to capitalize on this, I'm assuming that all users will be charged $0.05 everytime they use the word 'It' in an item description.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Buy It, Sell It, Trademark It!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Extra, Extra..Bloggers ARE Important!
Pretty good article in yesterday's WSJ (registration required) about how bloggers are becoming viewed by the fashion industry as an important medium to getting the word out about their products.
The big reason for the change in opinion about bloggers and their loyal readers, is just that, the millions of web users who turn to blogs for information. In case you've been living on Pluto (btw, it's no longer a planet), there are now over 50 million blogs being posted on the Web as we speak, and according to most people, that number is only going to grow.
Case in point, the blog SeekingAlpha struck a deal earlier this week with Yahoo! Finance, in which Yahoo! Finance will now carry content from SeekingAlpha with it's associated ticker symbols and other areas of the site.
Why is blogging so important? I think the answer is it puts more of a human face on subjects that have previously been left up to professional writers and journalists to write about in books, magazines, and Web 1.0 media. Now, anybody with access to a PC can give their two-cents about practically anything.
The benefits of this is more information is immediately available to everyone, and people can make better, more informed decisions on any subject they desire.
A drawback of this is now everyone considers himself (or herself) an expert in something - including yours truly. The readers, then, will have the ultimate say on who or who is not and expert, and they will demonstrate this decision by visiting the 'experts' blogs more.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Thanks, Mom...You're the Best!
A mother in Pennsylvania is facing misdemeanor drug charges after she admitted that she smoked pot with her son to reward him for doing his homework.
I say, good for her. Why don't all parents do this? I remember when I was growing up, all we received for a good report card was cash. And, invariably, some of that cash eventually made its way to purchasing drugs and alcohol (come on, like YOU didn't do this).
All she did was simply cut out the middle man, whereas if she just gave him cash, it's just as likely that he would have went out and purchased the drugs himself. And instead of the child buying his weed from a shady drug dealer (who could of laced the drug with X, LSD, or some other scary substance) she went out and probably purchased it from the nice 23 year old who lives down the street.
Read More: Weed, Frankly Speaking
Monday, September 11, 2006
Did it Really Happen?
I really didn't want to write this. In fact, I wanted to avoid blogging about this at all - which is why earlier I posted that very humorous YouTube clip of Matt Leinart getting Punk'd.
But, I believe the dis-service I would be doing by not posting, would be greater than if I did post, thus I am taking the time to write a couple thoughts about 9/11 and were we are as a country, five years after.
I'll be honest, when 9/11 first happened, I thought it was a joke - at best, a new movie opening up in theaters nationwide soon. At worst, it was someone sick imagination. I was in an Accounting class in school, when I happened to overhear a couple high-level details about what happened that day. The professor came in the class and announce (with little sadness) that "the events in New York are tragic, but we still have a class to go through".
At first, I didn't think it was a big deal - some moron flew their Cessna into the WTC. I had no idea about the Pentagon, or United 93. I thought that Osama bin Laden was dessert dwelling bedouin, who had nothing better to do with his time other than to make empty threats of war against Westerners.
And then I saw the damage. The people jumping 80 floors and more in a hope to avoid their fate. I saw fear. It was the first time in my life that I looked at another citizen in this country and could tell they were scared.
We all know what has happened since then. The saddest thing (and in my opinion, the scariest thing) is that five years later, we are by far no safer today than we were than. Sure, we really don't have to worry about terrorist taking over planes and crashing them into buildings (honestly, Al Qaeda isn't likely to pull that one again, though 'copycats' will surely try). But the fear persists in this country and in others.
Buy why are we here, why are we not safer. That's not an easy question to answer, but I think the answer clearly starts at the top. I understand that in order to move on from tragedy, it's not efficient to sit around pointing fingers, but in this case, I don't think there's anything else we can do.
In the days after 9/11, President Bush seemed like a real leader (it should be noted that in those days, I was a bleeding heart Republican, I digress). He was going to get the people that did this to us. He was going to deliver Osama's head to the American people on a silver platter, if need be. In the words of Senator Orrin Hatch, we were going to get the bastards that did this to us.
Now, five years later, let's measure our results:
- Osama bin Laden still roams free in Pakistan and criss-crosses the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan with relative ease. He and his henchmen frequently release videotapes taunting us of our failure to capture or kill him.
- Al Qaeda is still alive and well. Thanks to the contstant disrespect offered up by this and other countries, it takes little more than a telephone call to a disenfranchised young Muslim to get them to join the group.
-The United States and Britian are heavily involved in an Iraqi Civil War. In 2003, after deposing of Saddam Hussein, the US dropped the ball on how to maintain basic law and order in a country and as a result growing tension between different Muslim sects grew out of control.
- Iran learned that they can mess with the head of top political leaders by threatening them with mythical nuclear weapons. In the past, the US would have simply cut them off, econimically, and the situation would be resolved. However, with Oil at record prices and the military busy babysitting next door, the adminstration has its hands tied.
- Most civil liberties in the United States are essentially gone. The government regularly requests private records of ordinary citizens from the Web Searches to a list of telephone calls the make from phone companies. Cameras are everywhere- on traffic lights, in ATM's, Library entrances, and in police cars. Hell, I don't even trust the camera in my macbook.
I won't go through all of the things that changed, as I believe the list above will suffice. However, I would like to share an article that I came across today in Newsweek. It basically presents a scenario of the world that would have happened had our goverment done what it should have done in a post-9/11 world.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Do You Eat What Britney's Eating?
From MSNBC:
Who says Britney Spears’ star has faded? Someone cares enough about the preggers pop star to pay more than $500 for her allegedly half-eaten egg salad sandwich.
The eBay sale also came with a corn dog that was supposedly mostly eaten by her hubby Kevin Federline — but that Spears also took a chomp out of.
The seller claims that he works part time at a “fancy schmancy” hotel and was serving Spears and Federline during a catered affair where the food ranged from fine gourmet cuisine to deep-fried eats. “As you can see, they weren't eating high class that night,” notes the seller.
Spears ate half her sandwich, claims the seller, then a few bites from the second half. K-Fed ate a few things, “but the only leftover item I managed to pick up from him was this corn dog,” notes the seller. “Later I went to clear their plates with it, and as I was picking up the plate Britney picked [the corn dog] up really quick giggled and said ‘I can't let that go to waste’ and quickly took a big bite off of the stick end of the corn dog. I was still standing there holding the plate, not quite sure what to do because Britney Spears was stealing corn dogs off the plate I was pulling away. She finished her bite and put it back on the plate I was holding and said ‘thanks!’ ”
Realizing the celeb treasures he had in his possession, the waiter took the leftovers home, photographed them, had them vacuum sealed, and put them for sale on Australian eBay.
Forty-three bids were placed before a buyer paid $520 for the goodies. The winning bidder was identified as GoldenPalaceCasino, which in the past has engaged in publicity stunts such as paying a woman to tattoo her forehead with their company logo.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Slumping Sox
In case you've been wondering how I've been getting through the last month of the Red Sox disasterous decline, I give you this:
Brokeback to the Future
I know most of you will consider this old, but for some reason I love it and can't stop watching it. You should be aware that I loved the "Back to the Future" films, and I always thought there was a really odd relationship between the two main characters. In any case, I hope you enjoy.
Monday, August 28, 2006
eBay's Three-Way
Many of you may have heard earlier this year about eBay's deal with Yahoo in which Yahoo will be the main supplier of text based ads in the United States.
Well, today eBay decided to take it one step further and signed a deal with Google. Google will now essentially serve ads to eBay users who search for something on the Auction's Giant website. For example if you do a search for hardware stores on eBay, and your search returns zero results, you will be served (a la Google) some ads that match your query, thus enabling to click on these ads.
The service will be rolled out internationally, to eBay's non-US sites. It will also allow localized ads served, which is done pretty easily considering all the information eBay requires from its users when they register.
Oh and as a nice supplement to the deal, eBay and Google will also be working together in order to help build Skype as well as VOIP. Users will be able to click on text-based ads on Google, and immediately be connected to the merchants who are selling their wares online, and speak to them via Skype.
Wow. Unbelievable deal for both eBay and Google. Oh yeah, and congratulations to Yahoo too. It should be interesting to see what happens when one of these parties eventually gets sick of the three-way deal and demands that eBay choose one loyal partner (Come on, you know this is bound to happen).
One last thought - where is Microsoft in all of this? Does their search suck that bad that after years of working with them (reasearch eBay and MSFT Passport deal in early 2000-2001) eBay just gave them the finger and turned to the current champions of search?
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Does Porn Lead to Crime?
Interesting article in this week's Salt Lake City Weekly (strangely, Utah's most credible news source, though it does lean a bit left. I digress.). It's about the myth regarding whether or not pornography causes criminal acts.
A lot of ignorant folks (read: conservatives) feel it does, though, as usual, they lack the scientific proof to proove their point. To perpetuate this perspective, recently, there was a murder a five year old girl here about a month and a half ago. The accused killer of the girl blamed pornography for driving him to commit this crime.
As the article mentions, instead of taking responsibility for the crimes they committed, these people often look for something to blame. In this case, (and strangely enough, in lots of cases) they blame pornography for causing their shortfall.
Right, just like the time I received a speeding ticket - it wasn't my fault, I told the police officer, I just finished playing Grand Theft Auto and couldn't separate virtual reality from the real thing.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Apple's Buyin' You Off....Bitch
Apple pulled a Blackberry today and and paid off Creative in an effort to resolve a patent lawsuit.
The suit resulted from Apple's iPod music player and the fact that the navigation click-wheel was infringing on Creative's music navigation wheel on it's Zen .mp3 player. The settlement effectively ends all lawuits the two companies with each other. Interestingly, if other companies license Creative's technology, Apple will get a cut of its settlement returned.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Racist Utah Senators
This won't be a long post because the article pretty much speaks for itself. One of the State Senators of Utah commented today that the Supreme Court was "wrong" when it decided Brown v. Board. Here's a quote:
"Well, I think Brown v. Board of Education is wrong to begin with."
And here's a link to the article.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Is it Time to Say Goodbye?
Let's face it, if running eBay were a beauty contest, Meg Whitman would, under no circumstances, be the CEO. Fortunately for her, (and many CEO's) running companies is all about smarts and has almost nothing to do with looks. Running any company is a difficult job, and growing a company at break-neck speed is even more of a difficult job. Meg has done a great job in the almost 10 years she has been running at eBay. She has taken it from a one room office to a multi-continent online powerhouse.
But, as with all companies, things change. Companies grow, people leave, investors demand supersonic growth, and simply put, everybody gets sick of the same old same.
For years everybody has been satisfied with eBay. The growth was there, the expansion was there, and most importantly, there was always a profit and a huge stock price at the end of the day. However, recently, eBay has experienced some challenges. Key people are leaving, the stock price is dropping, Skype isn't bringing in money, and today, some sellers on the site started wondering publicly if it was time for Meg to go.
Fortunately for Meg, she has proven herself time and time again as a very capable CEO. She has been able to meet the expectations of customers, Analysts and stockholders, quarter after quarter and year after year.
Also, she has the backing of many Wall Street Analysts and bankers. Most of the projections that they hold for eBay are under the assumption that she will be running the company. Should she decide to leave (or should the company merge), lots of those rosy projections may be revised downward.
That said, there is a lot to be said for getting new blood into the mix. Last year, Meg briefly flirted with Disney for an opportunity to be the head person over there. Her interest in that job may reflect waning interest in eBay. Also, eBay's growth in it's core domestic business is slowing, perhaps someone new would be able to revitalize interest in the Auction giant both here and abroad.
Whatever happens, nobody can dispute what she did for eBay. She not only managed the company through one of the worst economic periods in our history, but she continues to succeed in managing one of the top retail sites in the world.
Read More: eBay, Meg Whitman
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
How To Upset Your Neighbors in Utah
This is how we roll in Utah..well at least according the Salt Lake Tribune.
Read More: Utah, Salt Lake Tribune
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Google's New Coupons
In a not-so-surprising move, Google will now offer coupons from local merchants so users can physically print them out and redeem them at their respective merchants.
The good part about this new program is that local merchants will be able to increasingly move from traditional advertising to the online realm by giving searchers more relevant, local discounts. For example a local hair salon will be able to display a coupon offering $5 off your next haircut when you redeem this ad, when a user searches for "hair salon's" in a given area/zip code.
The bad part about this is Affiliate Markerters probably will not see much much in the way another revenue stream. This deal appears to only involve Google (and their project partner Valpak) and the merchants who will be offering the coupons. Which isn't surprising given Google's recent changes to it's adwords policy.
Read More: Advertising, Google
Monday, August 14, 2006
New Ideas for Unemployment
The WSJ had a great article today about how a French Telecom is helping battle unemployment. Instead of giving people notice that they will be laid off with severance packages and a big middle finger for their trouble, the Telecom is helping employees do something useful by helping them start small businesses.
They do everything from helping to draft business plans, and helping entrepreneurs secure funding for their small business. It will also help employees get more education if they need it, and they have worked with other public-sector employers to take in its workers. If the project fails within three years, the employee can return to the company. The most amazing thing to me about the experiment so far is that one in six of the new projects have failed.
This is a great idea and I'm unsure as to why this hasn't caught on with companies like Ford, GM, and other companies who from time to time have to dump several thousands of employees (Answer: because they're dumb ). Obviously, it would take time and money but the investment would be miniscule to what could be a potential boon for the new small business owner, the company, and the economy.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Quote of the Day
The following is taken from the blog dooce.com:
If you haven’t ever heard a Utah accent all you need to know is that if you
had to listen to 30 seconds of a local newscast you’d offer a blow job to the
first person who volunteered to stab you in the ears.
Couldn't agree more.
Read More: Quote of the Day, Utah Press, Dooce
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Uncovering a Plot, and Our Response
Lots of thoughts raced through my mind this morning as all of us discovered the latest terrorism plot that started in Heathrow today. A plot that if properly carried out, would have cost (possibly) thousands of people their lives.
I was really disappointed in President Bush's 'lack' of response to the 'news' of the day (he actually knew what was going on as early as three days ago).
By far, the best article analyzing our response the plot (so far) has been from Newsweek columnist Christopher Dickey. He counters Bush's assertion that we are now "safer than we were pre-9/11" by saying:
But the long list of horrific attacks around the world since 9/11, from
Bali to Madrid, Casablanca to London, Amman to Istanbul, should make anyone
think again about such claims. So should the near misses. “Shoe bomber” Richard
Reid fumbled his matches when he tried to blow himself up aboard an American
Airlines flight in December 2001. But he came close, and if he’d
succeeded, hundreds of people would have died with all traces of evidence lost
in the wintry Atlantic. The plot revealed today would have killed more than
1,000 people. By some accounts there would have been three terrible waves of
carnage: first three planes, then three more, then three more. Again, over the
high seas.
I really couldn't have said it better myself. I could really go on and on ad naseaum about the many things that we could have proactively done, but for the sake of time, I'll close with this: the fact of the matter is, today clearly showed that we still have a lot of room to improve as far as our national security is concerned. It's been five years since the United States was violently and verociously attacked, and this administration has failed to deliver on its promise to capture those responsible. Instead, they decided to invade a country that had NOTHING to do with 9/11. Ask yourself this question: does that make sense?
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