Market Share For Email and Search Providers ( Business Statistics)

This post could be called Email 2 since we have just posted a review of a major business book on email: SEND: The Essential Guide to Email For Office and Home by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe. Some statistics on Business usage of email should be useful.

Ferris Research has tracked business email usage. For example they estimate 6 trillion non spam email messages by businesses per year. The average message is 10 kilobytes; however 5% are bigger than 1 megabyte (power point presentations, excel spreadsheets, etc.). With emphasis on collaborative uses of email, these large usages will increase. Ferris also estimates 25 billion business messages worldwide every day. Greater than 75% of messages sent are spam. A typical business user receives 600 messages a week. Ferris estimates a 35 billion dollars cost per year in trying to combat email spam, resulting in great losses in productivity (time spent in reading and deleting spam). So as email has become a great business tool, spam has become its costly byproduct.

Most large businesses use client based email servers utilizing security procedures and firewalls to deter electronic attacks. A major client based email program is Microsoft Exchange, used by larger businesses, universities, and government entities. Dealing with spam and potential electronic attacks is a costly business.

Pew Internet and American Life Project has compiled industry statistics on who uses the internet and what for. In their report on demographics of Internet users, they find 70 % of sampled adults use the Internet and that the breakdown for men and women as users is nearly equal, 73% for Women, 77% for Men. The highest percentage of users are between 18 and 64. This also conforms to working years of most populations. 70% of adults sampled use the internet and 60% use it to send and receive email; 49% use a search engine to find information; 39% to read news and 30% to consult the weather. A May 2008 Pew Study found 73% adults using the internet and 92% sending and receiving email; 89% of this sample used a Search Engine to find information. (Go to the highlighted Pew site to view these studies and breakdowns). Obviously there are differences in the adults sampled as the May study is much higher in overall usage. Tracking usage is still in its early stages. Yet these studies show high reliance on the internet both for email and information found through search engines.

MarketShare is a company that tracks usage for browsers and search engines. While Microsoft had nearly 70% marketshare compared to 21% for Firefox. Google Chrome which is a few months old has already attained 1% share bypassing Opera and many other browsers. MarketShare also tracks search engine usage. Google is dominating with 81%; Yahoo is next with 10%, AOL 2% and Microsoft Live with 1.58% share. In free email usage Yahoo claims over 250 million users, Microsoft about 220 million, and GMail about 7 million users. Yahoo is still a strong contender in the email market.

All these figures indicate the widespread significance of email as a central means of communication for all adults; search engines as major providers of information and access to information; and browsers as the main (free) tool in accessing the internet, search and email. For business there is a significant cost to maintaining email systems, which now have become mobile as well. It is a central tool and must be managed consciously for any business to survive and be productive.

Email: Benefit or Curse ( Book Review )

Has your Email got you down?

A few days ago a patron asked me to take a look at her computer. Her Email wasn't working. She opened her email and showed me the "inbox". There were over 600 messages there. Also there were over 600 messages in the "trash" file. Other factors were involved in "the crash" she was experiencing. We had to "reboot" the computer and got things going again. I suggested she might want to "empty the trash" file and to try to delete as many of the 600 messages in her "inbox" as possible.

The above story is common for anyone with email accounts. Think how Michael Brown, then director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) felt when the following email exchanges between him and his staff were revealed. These exchanges were at the height of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

"To FEMA Staff
August 29, 2005
Are you proud of me? Can I quit now? Can I go home?"
"To FEMA Staff
August 29, 2005
If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire, you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god."
"To FEMA Staff
August 30, 2005
I'm not answering that question, but do have a question. Do you know of anyone who dogsits?"

These embarassing exchanges are revealed in David Shipley and Will Schwalbe's cautionary tale and critique and guide to everything email, SEND: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home. Shipley is OpEd page editor for the New York Times; Schwalbe, editor in chief for Hyperion Books.

Essential is, for once, not hollow hyperbole. The authors estimate 25 % of the business day is taken up by email. Trillions of email messages go back and forth every day. Email is part of Business and Government Records Retention programs. President Bush and his administration will be delivering 100 million electronic messages to the National Archives; President Clinton's was 32 million messages. There are many existing legal cases where Company Email is part of the discovery process. Email was notable in Enron and Arthur Andersen cases. Current and past Presidents have sought to prevent access by claiming "executive privilege".

Here's what's covered in SEND: "Why do we email so Badly. When Should We email. Anatomy of an email. How to write ( the perfect ) email. Six essential types of email. Email that can land you in jail. S.E.N.D ( Simple, Effective, Necessary, Done ). The last word. How to read your header (Appendix). Email in all its manifestations is covered -- from the silly to the very serious. This book is a comprehensive account of do's and don'ts; a true manual and guide. It is not a "preachy" ettiquete book. It is highly enligtening and often humorous in its presentation of its subject. The authors do not exempt themselves from falling into the trap of misguided communications. They put their discussion into context behind the emergence of this important tool and differentiate between other forms such as instant messaging ( IM ), chat and the evolution of mobile emails ( Blackberries ) dominating business life 24/7. In fact email seems to have taken over many lives and made once private communication open and public.

The need to prioritize, to discuss access, the fact that one receives email from total strangers, who in the Facebook and MySpace and LinkedIn generation become your "friends". Every manager must decide how to handle email. Anything in email transactions must thought of as "public". Effective time management requires an email policy. In fact email may give one the illusion of getting things done, but production is elsewhere.

So, if you find yourself in the email mire or are trying to work out effective policies, SEND will be an essential guide for you. In fact anyone entering the email world will beneft from this book. Probably one of the most useful Business books of 2008 or anytime. Along the way you learn the history of email ( much older than the world wide web ), how email in fact works in the internet, and many true life illustrations of what is right and what is wrong about email In fact you may want to make this book required reading for your business, employees and managers. Besides its obvious utility, there is a bonus: it is a most enjoyable read!

On Being Thankful - Gas Prices Down

As Thanksgiving 2008 arrived, there seemed little to be thankful for this year. However, regardless of circumstances, there is always much to be thankful for each day and this day gives us a chance to reflect on the positive.

Let's just take one change we can all celebrate. I'm speaking, of course, about gas and oil prices. They are down dramatically. Gas prices for regular are now under $1.99 a gallon in Pittsfield, cheaper elsewhere in Massachusetts. That's more than a 50 % drop since July. A barrel of oil now goes for under $60, far from the $147 barrel high. And diesel prices are down substantially as well. (See our sidebars on AAA Gas Prices and Locators to determine prices in your area.)

The bleak consumer situation in July for oil and gas has been substantially relieved. Will it continue? Who would dare predict? All bets are off! Still we are Thankful for this relief this Thanksgiving. More money is in the pocket of the consumer and the small business. People are reluctant to spend; credit is tight; people are worried. City and State governments are worried about what 2009 will bring.

So while gas prices are declining, let us rejoice for that. Reports are spreading that with gas prices down, automotive sales may be increasing even for SUVs, which have been languishing on dealer lots.

Be worried; be careful; be thankful; get prepared for 2009.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 2008 - A Time of Transition

November was a time of transition for the U.S. economy.

Throughout the month the economy took a continuing downward trend into Recession and some proclaimed the worst trends since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The housing and automotive markets have continued to slide. The Treasury Department and Congress has said no for the time being to a bailout of the automotive industry. Detroit's big three wants an additional $25 billion to help with debtors. Congress has told Detroit, it will need a concrete plan on how monies will help to be presented in December.

The stock market continued to decine, half of what it was a year ago. Major banks such as Citigroup have had their stock values slide to all time lows, below $5 a share. Citigroup applied for $20 billion more and received it from the Treasury in return for preferred stock and promise of repayment. Still even with this infusion, Citigroup is only trading at$8.29 a share at the time of this writing. This does reflect doubling since the Monday announcement of the $20 billion.

While there is some optimism with respect to Citigroup, the housing loan credit default swaps that got it into trouble have not and will not go away. There is a very long way to go. But as with AIG, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae, Citigroup is "too big to let fail.

On other fronts the long political campaign saw the Democratic Party continue to reverse the Republican Party's hold majority representation. Barack Obama handily defeated John McCain as millions voted for a change in direction. President elect Obama has quickly moved to appoint a transitional team and cabinet that reflects recruitment from the last 3 adminstrations. Obama clearly sees economic recovery as central to his administration. Small and large businesses will be looking closely at the Obama appointments and programs as will labor and countless unrepresented populations, which will be vieing for attention.

That the economy has been turbulent and volatile is an understatement. All are looking for positive signs. The last week of November has seen some restoration in the market. But credit and loans is still a problem. There were bleak forecasts for retail but the post Thanksgiving retail market held steady over the weekend. Time will tell where it will go.

December will continue to represent this transitional phase. Which way for 2009 is the big question?

Berkshire Bank Applies For Bailout Money

November saw continued effects of the economic crisis, only this time it is Pittsfield's own Berkshire Bank.

In an article, Berkshire Bank has applied for $40 million from U.S. financial bailout, dated November 21, in the Berkshire Eagle, Tony Dobrowolski reported that President and CEO, Michael Daly said that "funding from the Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP is available only to banks that are financially strong. Berkshire Bank had $333 million in capital during the third quarter and has posted record earnings this year...The idea of TARP has been to find the strongest banks they can to access additional capital. The stronger banks (then) can use their capital reserves to help weaker banks that may be looking for lending partners."

Dobrowolski also reported Daly's intentions should the federal application be accepted. The bank will invest the money while looking for loan opportunities.

According to Berkshire Bank's website, the bank has $2.5 billion dollars total assets, $781 million in assets under management, and 38 branches, and that it is the largest bank headquartered in Western Massachusetts. It is also heavily involved in business and communitiy activities in Pittsfield and Berkshire County.

To date this is the only western Massachusetts bank to take advantage of the Federal $700 billion bailout.

Renovations At Berkshire Athenaeum: Pittsfield’s Public Library and New Library Blog

Today we take a brief departure from our About Business column to focus on exciting developments here at the Berkshire Athenaeum. Monday, October 27, was the official Grand Reopening of the Reference and Local History/Geneology departments after a year and a half of planning and renovation. Though never closed during the renovation, this was a time to celebrate.

The Reference department has a new Reference Desk and Office and computers expanded to 14. Local History has been entirely renovated and updated. It features rows of movable compact shelving, allowing for collection expansion and security; 6 state of the art ScanPro Microfilm/Scanner/Computers and 4 additional computers for Local History/Geneology database searches; an entirely new Local History Information Desk, Offices, and climate control and advanced security for the protection of archival materials. The Herman Melville Room and Berkshire Author's Room have also been vastly restored and renovated. The Author's room also features combined Local History/Reference Department Computer Lab for Instruction Classes on Athenaeum Databases and Online Resources. An additional 12 Laptops will be available for classes. A schedule of sessions is currentlly being worked up.

If this were not excitement enough the Berkshire Athenaeum has inaugarated a new Athenaeum Blog. Click on the Renovation link below to view the new blog, which focuses on events at the Athenaeum and complements the library home page, and the long journey through renovation to Grand Reopening. Check out the new blog. We look forward to seeing you at the Athenaeum.

Renovations At Berkshire Athenaeum: Pittsfield’s Public Library

Effects of Economic Crisis - Gas Prices Down!!

Since June 19 we've been tracking Gas Prices locally and nationally. Looking at the trend on the 19th we cautioned, "Gas prices are likely to continue to go up or at least maintain the $4 rate." Like most economic projections during the last 3 months this one was very wrong. And who would have guessed that today I would locally see gas prices posted anywhere from $2.94 to $3.25!

That's right! Gas prices under $3, down more than $1 from 3 months ago. The price of oil - also down from the high of $147 a barrel from July to under $80 a barrel! If you had bet on oil staying high as commodity traders do, you would have 'lost your shirt.' The same for gas prices.
It's rare for the consumer to benefit from economic crisis. With gas prices down as well as car prices, this is one of those rare times .

The oil and gas crisis has had dramatic effects on the automotive industry. Sales for GM, Ford and even Toyota have fallen greatly. Most of the sales decline has been attributed to GM and Ford's reliance on trucks and SUV sales. The gas crisis has literally stopped sales of these vehicles because of their gas guzzling reputations. GM and Ford's stocks have fallen below $10 a share and credit from banks has been tight if not frozen. Consumers wanting to buy cars, even those with good credit, have been turned away dealers because of bank reluctance to lend.

This set of circumstances led the automotive industry to request help from the Federal government. A $25 billion loan is being provided to help stabilize the industry. Will it be enough? Hard to say as many changes will be required and there is not a lot of time. Repercussions of the oil crisis are having widespread effect. In response to the earlier crisis (June) budgets and projections had to be altered for small businesses (trucking, for example), municipalities ( redoing budgets for a fiscal year just begun), utilities ( new projections of much higher costs), and governments (budget cutbacks and need for reallocation of expenditures for higher energy costs at a time when less revenue from taxes are coming in). An overall economic crisis.

Now energy costs are going down. Will the new plans have to be scratched? Like the commodity trader who bet on higher prices continuing and now losing their bets, will the same thing happen to other entities who have adjusted their plans? With volatile ups and downs the real question if what is the real price of anything. A full stabilization plan is called for, one that will benefit all parties and restore balance.

Congress has passed legislation providing the Department of Treasury with $700 billion dollars to start the balancing process to provide a fuel injection to those sectors that need assistance right away. banking, automotive industry, states and municipalities.

Meanwhile the consumer will hunt for bargains and hope that gas and energy prices continue to go down. According to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge report the current national average is $3.15 per gallon just 40 cents more than a year ago. In Pittsfield today's average is $3.23. A year ago it was $2.67. Use the AAA Gas Price Locator and AAA Daily Gas Prices in our "In the Berkshires" sidebar to follow these prices regularly and plan your expenditures accordingly.

Will the $700 billion fuel recovery and stabilization? The process has just begun and is still being worked out. Now it is a worldwide problem with European governments injection $2 trilion dollars into their economies. A stabilization plan is evolving.

We can breathe a sigh of relief that at least gas prices are going down. Will that continue?
Stay tuned.

Risky Business 3: And Then There Were None

In our last post, dated Monday, September 15, we reported that of the 5 major investment banks -- Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Guaranty -- only two, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Guaranty remained operating independently. All others had either gone bankrupt or bailed out and absorbed by large commercial banks.

On Sunday night, September 21, the Federal Reserve allowed Morgan Guaranty and Goldman Sachs to change their status from independent investment banks to commercial bank holding companies. In exchange for this status Morgan Guaranty and Goldman Sachs lost their independent status and must submit to Federal Reserve oversight and regulation. What these two former Investment Banks gained was direct access to the Federal Reserve Discount Window and to loans giving them immediate credit. What this means to the economy remains to be seen. What this means to these giant investment firms is reorganization of their structures and submitting to oversight and government audits.

Hence our title for this post "And Then There Were None" cribbed from the Agatha Christie novel of the same name.

In that last post we also reported on the possible failure of Insurance giant AIG. On Tuesday the Federal Reserve bailed out AIG to the tune of 85 bilion dollars. AIG at that point was taken over and policies protected for the time being. Numerous small businesses and state pension funds were invested in AIG as well as home mortgages. It is the mortgage crisis, known as the subprime mortgage crisis that has precipitated the current crisis.

Then at the end of last week, former Goldman Sachs CEO, Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson, submitted a 700 billion plan, backed by President Bush, to bailout the financial sector of the United States economy! The bailout would allow the Department of the Treasury to purchase all the bad housing debt, mortgage backed securities, that commercial and investment banks hold, take this debt off their balance sheets, and allow them to continue investing and trading. Congress is currently debating this proposal with a self imposed deadline of Friday, September 26, for voting on and passing legislation. Executive pay is at issue as is what stake or benefit, if any, the government would earn from bailing out Wall Street firms and banks who request the assist of this bailout. How taxpayers would benefit from these large infusions of money propping up credit risks.

Is there a reason to panic? Businesses, large and small, depend on credit (loans) to start and continue their businesses, often putting up their properties (homes, etc) as collatoral. Farmers do the same. As Banks limit their lending because of squeezes on their own capital, credit becomes less available to small businesses. So the housing mortgage crisis affects all -- individuals, businesses, local and state governments. As companies and invidividuals fail, fewer taxes are collected by states, forcing budget cutbacks, layoffs, and elimination of programs.

Will the bailout stabilize the economy? Or will it simply bailout Wall Street, if that. That what's being debated right now. Inc Magazine looks at the effects on small business in an article by Patrick Sauer, "Wall Street vs Main Street". Is it sending good money after bad as economic columnist of the New York Times, Paul Krugman, suggests in his September 21 article, "Cash For Trash", The Times also polled the impressions of three economists, one from Duke University, another from the Brookings Institute, the third from the American Enterprise Institute, for their September 22 article, "How Three Economists View a Financial Rescue Plan".

Meanwhile, stock markets are volatile as ever, one day up with great gains, another day down with great losses. So economic balance does not appear on the horizon as yet.

Looking for a book on subprimes. Robert J. Shiller, author of Irrational Exuberance, has just published The Subprime Solution: How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened and What To Do About It available in public libraries. On the previous bailout of Savings and Loans in the 1980s, see Michael A. Robinson's Overdrawn: The Bailout of American Savings, and Bailout: An Insider's Account of Bank Failures and Rescues, also available at public libraries.

The future? To be continued!

Risky Business 2 ( In the News )

With the bankruptcy of Investment Bank giant Lehman Brothers, the sale of Merril Lynch to Bank of America, the potential failure of Insurance giant, American International Group -- AIG, and the 504 point drop of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Monday, September 15, 2008 will long be remembered. Is it equal to the Great Crash of 1929?

How to find perspective on the current economic crisis? Are there sources of information that might help us understand what we are going through?

Over the past few years several books have appeared that attempt to put the current economic situation in context. The following list is by no means inclusive and is limited to what is currently on library shelves. Let's begin with some books on the Great Depression:

The Great Crash 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith is a recognized classic on reasons behind the crash of 1929. Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression by Studs Terkel represents in depth memories of many people who went through the Depression and recounts their stories. Terkel talks to people from all strata of the period. An important book. T.H. Watkins has chronicled the Great Depression in 2 books -- The Great Depression -- America in the 1930s and The Hungry Years: A Narrative History of the Great Depression in America. Like Terkel Watkins draws on oral histories and memoirs, but also historical documents. Other books about the Depression include Rainbow's End: The Crash of 1929 by Maury Klein and The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes. Shlaes sees the small businessman as the Forgotten Man and believes that New Deal interventionist programs prolonged the depression instead of relieving its impact.

For the current situation there are several books including: When Markets Collide: Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change by Mohammed A. El-Erian providing an action plan for investors, risk managers, and policy makers; 2 books by Robert J. Shiller -- The New Financial Order: Risk in the 21st Century and Irrational Exuberance; New York Times economics columnist, Paul Krugman's The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World; Eric S. Weiner's What Goes Up: The Uncensored History of Modern Wall Street as told by the bankers, brokers, CEOs and the Scoundrels Who Made It Happen; Benoit B. Mandelbrot and Richard L. Hudson's The (Mis) behavior of Markets: A Fractal View of Risk, Ruin and Reward and Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists: Unleashing the Power of Financial Markets to Create Wealth and Spread Opportunity by Raghuram G. Ragen and Luigi Zingales. Finally, former Clinton Labor Secretary, Robert Reich's Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life provides a thought-provoking perspective on the current economic context. ( For reviews of these books, click on the links and select "more information" under "more resources". )

Where to find more information? Websites that continuously follow business news and put things in perspective include: for daily headlines gathered together from multiple sources Google News is hard to beat, especially Google Business News. Starting with Google Business News you can sample up to the minute headlines, videos, and stories. Another good source of up to the minute business news from multiple providers is Yahoo Finance. There you will be able to access multiple business magazines and newspapers sites. CnnMoney is another website that consistently provides indepth coverage as well as video reports and up-to-the minute coverage. They have been especially good in exploring the current economic crisis and are consistently exploring cause as well as effect. You will visit it often. Also see the Business section of the New York Times for detailed coverage. Bloomberg, Business Week, Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch, and Forbes are worth consulting on a regular basis. For an international perspective see Financial Times and The Economist. Fortune and Money Magazines are each to be accessed through CnnMoney.

In consulting the above sites and books you will be able to contrast and sift information in this rapid and confusing environment. Most of the books can be found at the Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield's Public Library

Risky Business 1 ( In the News )

Risky business!

Besides being the title of an early Tom Cruise movie, Risky Business are two words that sum up the last several months of financial news.

Let's review: Today, Monday, September 15 158 year old investment bank, Lehman Brothers, declared bankruptcy after a long weekend when other major banks and government entities could not agree to bail out Lehman. In fact chief Lehman suitor Bank of America, instead, bought 94 year old Investment Bank Merrill Lynch for 50 billion dollars in stock!

Confused? The Federal government and the Federal Reserve refused to back Lehman as it had earlier backed Investment Bank Bear Stearns, for which they had extended 28 billion dollars to back risk and allow Bear Stearns to be taken over by JP Morgan Chase, where it is now merged. So at the end of the day, where there had been five giant investment banks -- Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Guaranty Trust -- only two were left standing as independent entities -- Goldman Sachs and Morgan Guaranty. The others were absorbed by still larger companies. Such is the risk of doing business in the Investment Banking sector! Until this week these companies were the very pillars of the financial world.

Wait! But there is more. One of the largest insurance companies in the world, AIG - American International Group has fallen at the end of today to a share price of $4.76, having lost billions of dollars in the last year and down from a high of $70 during a 52 week period. No doubt a great many investors have lost money. No doubt each of these companies has experienced a large amount of "short" selling and profit taking, ( see our blog post of August 7, Investopedia ), At the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange AIG was fighting for its corporate life. AIG extends across the globe; its failure would have dramatic impact. So stay tuned. Warren Buffett is looking at AIG. The State of New York, where AIG resides, is allowing AIG to tap its (AIG's) assets for 20 billion dollars. Also 10 large banks have joined together to create a fund to loan 70 billion dollars to companies on the precipice. So powerful private and public forces are moving.

The Federal Government has been doing its part. Remember Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ( see our blog post of July 17 on them ). They have now been taken over and are reorganizing. Since over five trillion dollars was at stake the Government could not allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to fail. And of course there was the Indy Mac takeover by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

September 15, 2008 will be a day remembered far into the future in histories of American finance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 504 ponts today the most since September 11, 2001. Are we going through a collapse? Or is it just the highs and lows of the "business cycle" a harsh correction to the "irrational exuberance" of recent years. Stocks overvalued are now contrasted with major stocks that are undervalued, an opportunity for investors willing to take the risk. Certainly AIG would seem ripe to buy, since it is so low, but this is a risky business after all. It's the time of the Buffetts and Templetons of the world. First the causes of these collapses must be understood. There is vast agreement that subprime loans and leveraged bad debt has brought down these giants, that and untold profits that have now turned to dust. Bank of America seems to be a company that has capitalized on these failures, acquiring Merrill Lynch and Countrywide ( the foremost perpetrator of subprime loan practices ) JP Morgan Chase is another company that has taken advantage of the crisis to purchase Bear Stearns at nearly "junk" prices.

The Housing Mortgage crisis continues but overpriced properties are coming down perhaps more closely to their true value. However there is widespread pain and foreclosure over these overpriced properties and financial bubbles built into the subprime mortgages loaned by companies such as Countrywide. The disasters there are now affecting the financiers who initially profited. The business environment remains volatile, like the gas prices at the pump.

In Risky Business II we will try to provide a primer as to where you may find more information, enough to begin to obtain perspective on what seems to be the daily economic crisis.

Google Inc -- Ten Years Old!

Do you Google?

Odds are that you do. Probably several times a day as you wend your way about the internet.

Google started out modestly but effectively Sept 7, 1998 by two Stanford University students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who on September 7, 2008 are still involved in the company's daily operations. Their search engine, Google, revolutionized search technology, creating fast, accurate results, gathered from millions, now billions of web pages. Today Google is a world wide company with 25,000 employees, a market capitalization of 150 billion dollars, and annual income of 16 billion dollars. Google (NASDAQ GOOG) is now a public traded and owned company with a current share price of $444.25.

When Google started out, it seemed preposterous to think of it as a money making business. How could simple search results make money? Google developed a simple effective strategy employing the user's interests in fostering a "click to pay" advertising system they named Google Adsense. Small text ads are placed next to search results, web pages, blog entries. A searcher clicks on ad and goes to the company's link. Income is generated both for the company and Google. Most of Google's revenues come from this system.

To celebrate its 10th birthday Google launched an internet browser, Google Chrome, as part of its long term strategy for the next 10 years. A video interview conducted by Financial Times United States Managing Editor Chrystia Freeland with Google CEO Eric Schmidt, explores Google's strategy for introducing Google Chrome. The unique features of Google Chrome are explored in a comic book by Scott McCloud, commissioned by Google. Since Google has partnership with internet browser Firefox, was another browser needed? Schmidt's answer is that Google Chrome takes a different path than Firefox. It is application, online software oriented, not simply web page gatherer. Google sees the dominant trend away from desktop applications to fully only online mostly free applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, email, business tools, file storage, and collaborative efforts, presentations and publishing.

Google Chrome is wholly free and open source, its code available to all, including its competitors. Firefox, which is also open source and non profit, has benefitted from the creative efforts of individual developers who have made Firefox a major force through its system of add-ons tailored to Firefox. Google Chrome cannot use Firefox add-ons but presumably developers will create add-ons for Google Chrome. Until then committed Firefox users will probably stay with Firefox. Microsoft, which controls 90% market share of Operating Systems (Windows), has seen a steady decline in its browser dominance since the introduction of Firefox. Internet Explorer currently holds 72% market share with Firefox nearly 20% and Apple's Safari 6.37%.
Much of Microsoft's dominance has come from its operating system bundling of Internet Explorer begun with Windows 95 and relationships with OEM's (Original Equipment Manufacturers), a strategy that effectively put Netscape out of business and catapulted Microsoft into years of battling claims of monopolistic practices in US and European courts.

Google dominates the Search environment with marketshare of 80% of all searches globally, followed by Yahoo with 12% and MSN (Microsoft network) with 3.46%. Besides Google Search Google provides 40+ fully developed internet services and applications, including GMail, You Tube, Blogger, Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Desktop, Reader, Notebook, Calendar, Google News and the list goes on. GMail with 7+ gigabytes of free storage forms the basis of a Google account and provides access to all services. Google Chrome's unique capacity allow individual web pages to be rendered as separate tabs, with a task manager for each tab. What this means is that computer memory is managed allowing for speed without accumulating so much memory that computer crashes. For each page Firefox and Internet Explorer gathers computer memory is tasked accumulatively, slowing performance down to a standstill if you have several windows open. Google Chrome is competitive as a memory management system and that speaks to its overall strategy of allowing multiple applications without unduly taxing computer memory.

Google wants to provide quick, easy access to information you want; allow you to use online word processors, spreadsheets, whatever application it is you want to use, and provide you with unlimited storage for all your files. That is the Google strategy for the next 10 years. It sees the internet as one vast operating system not owned by any one group, fostered by open access and open source for all who want to make use of these services. For businesses this represents almost unlimited opportunity.

Happy Birthday Google!

Want to read more about Google, see The Google Story by David A. Vise, Make Easy Money With Google: Using the Adsense Advertising Program by Eric Giguere, Google and the Mission to Map Meaning and Make Money by Bart Milner, and The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr. For Microsoft see Mary Jo Foley's Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era. All these works are available from the Berkshire Athenaeum or your local library. Google's philosophy and much other information is on its corporate web page. Up-to-minute information about Google Chrome and other products can be gotten from search on Google News with the product of your choice as search item.

Labor Day 2008 - Gas Prices Revisited

Labor Day 2008!

You can hear the chorus everywhere. Where did the Summer go?! It's back to school time for kids and the end of Summer vacations for most. In fact the long Labor Day weekend is when families hit the road to travel to see friends, family and resort areas. But this year high gas prices have altered the plans of many and a new word invented, the "staycation". In fact high gas prices have had ripple effects throughout the American and world economy. Because of these changes I thought this would be a good time to revisit the issue of gas prices and where we stand at the end of August.

In the June 19 About Business post, "Gas Prices in the News" the average price of regular gas in Pittsfield was $4.102. The national average was $4.073. On July 17 the national average reached its highest point $4.114. Since that peak national gas prices have dropped a little over 10% to $3.682; these prices courtesy of AAA's daily Fuel Gauge Report. For Pittsfield there has been a 43 cent drop since June 19 to the current $3.674, still just over a 10% decline.

If you are traveling this Labor Day weekend, you may want to know where the lowest prices are. Which states have the "cheapest" average prices? Which cities have the "cheapest" rates? To find this information out use AAA's daily State by State averages and its Gas Price Locators. As an example I'm traveling to Connecticut from Massachusetts this weekend. Average rates in Connecticut are $3.816; Massachusetts $3.607. Pittsfield's lowest rate is $3.57; Southern Connecticut $3.82 to $3.97. This tells me I should plan my weekend gas purchases in Massachusetts. You may use these tools to plot your own purchases.

Gas prices have impacted both travel plans, how people travel, and also automobile sales. In the area of automotive sales, SUV's are languishing in dealer lots and automotive companies have launched heavy incentives to clear the lots for the introduction of 2009 models. If companies have cars with good fuel economy they are emphasizing those models. For example General Motors is touting its Chevrolet Cobalt, a car they had planned to discontinue but no more it seems. It's fuel economy is competitive. Automotive companies are downsizing their models, discontinuing many truck lines and this has been true of Japanese companies as well as they have seen their SUV and pick up truck sales decline. Labor Day is often thought as the best time to buy a new car both because of price incentives and change of models from 2008 to 2009 and this year is no exception.

CNNMoney.com has just issued a report on August automobile sales. There they report a slight rebound from the July 16 year low of 12.5 million vehicles sold. August sales are estimated at over 13 million. However this number is 3 million less vehicles sold than August 2007 sales of 16.2 million. So the automotive picture is bleak for the companies but good for buyers, who can get good bargains. Buyers have to be aware that the highest price incentive packages are for vehicles often not competitive for fuel economy. As a reminder it is the EPA that tracks fuel economy. Their guide should be looked at in the library or online if fuel economy is one of your priorities.

So increased gas prices are greatly affecting the economy and people are curtailing their plans. Back to Labor Day. What is the immediate impact for this weekend? The New York Daily News online edition of August 28 had a most interesting report by staff writer Oren Yaniv "Dropping GasPrices Signal More Travel". Yaniv makes a strong argument, using AAA/Travel Industry Association figures that people's travel plans have decline less than 1% from Labor Day 2007. But how they travel has changed. Here's AAA's estimates: 34.4 million traveling, 28.6 million by car, 4 million by air for an average distance of 888 miles and $826 in family expenditures. Labor Day appears as always to be the last fling before settling down to Fall and Winter preparations.

Generally, gas prices decline after Labor Day. This year it is increasingly difficult to predict. What will the impact of Hurricane Gustav be? Oil price per barrel is down to between $117 and $120 from highs of $147. Many towns and villages and homeowners and renters are fearful of increased energy costs for the harsh New England winters. There is the air of impending crisis for all businesses and individuals that operate on small margins.

The future will be faced with mixed feelings that come from a volatile situation. The national holiday of Labor Day at least gives people the opportunity have a release before they have to buckle down to uncertainty ahead. It's also the only time we may honor freely each other as workers.

Enjoy your holiday!

Most Powerful Business Web Sites

What are the most powerful Business Web Sites?

Crain Publishing's Business to Business Marketing Magazine answers this question annually in its special reports on Media Power. Media Power 2008 was released in May and names 50 industry leading web sites. A wide variety of criteria are used, including ad revenue, number of views, length of time spent on sites by users, paid circulation ( if applicable), ad rates, and multiple surveys. The audience for these reports are ad agencies, corporate marketers, anyone engaged in concerted ad campaigns. Audience tracking companies, such as Nielsen, are not only involved in tracking television but also Internet web sites and their impact. So Business to Business Magazine pools all this information to come up with its ratings.

Here's who made the list of top Business Internet sites in alphabetical order: www.allbusiness.com, www.business.com, www.cnetnetworks.com, www.cnnmoney.com, www.entrepreneur.com, www.forbes.com, www.google.com, www.infoworld.com, www.msn.com, www.nytimes.com, www.techtarget.com, www.thomasnet.com, www.wsj.com, and www.yahoo.com. Click on the highlighted "list of top Business Internet sites" and highlighted web addresses for detailed reports. The Wall Street Journal held the number 1 position closely followed by Google. The list shows the continuing shift from print media to online electronic media and the trend towards incorporating interactive social networking.

For the print media the most powerful General Business Magazines were Barron's, Business Week, CFO ( Chief Financial Officer ), Conde Nast Portfolio, The Economist, Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, and Inc Magazines. While each of these magazines is in fact a print magazine available on newstands and libraries such as ours, each has an active online presence and vast additional online resources at their sites. Click on the magazine names to visit their sites.

Business to Business Magazine also rates business newspapers. Most powerful outlets for 2008 are The Financial Times, Investors Business Daily, The New York Times. USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal. Click on "business newspapers" for the special report. Visit the websites of the newspapers by clicking on the name of the paper. Each of these newspapers with the exception of the Wall Street Journal has considerable content available free on their websites. Last year the New York Times made their entire site free. The special report shows considerable revenue gains for the Times' online edition so it appears their "free" strategy has reaped rewards. Other newspapers are likely to follow their lead.

In the coming weeks we will explore the business resources of many of these magazines and what they offer to small businesses and to the interested reader. Meanwhile nearly all of these most powerful business magazines and newspapers can be read at the Berkshire Athenaeum where you can freely bring yourself up to date and follow your interest.

Investopedia ( Essential Business Tools )

I don't know about you, but I find dictionaries fascinating. When I look up a word, there's always another word nearby that's just as interesting or more so. That leads to another word! And soon I'm paging through the dictionary from one section to another. Like eating chocolates you just can't stop with one (chocolate or word).

Oddly enough the same is true of dictionaries of business and finance. I mean, just what is short selling? It's been in the news with respect to Fannie Mae. Like all trades, vocations, professions, business and finance has its own unique language. It's a code that if you are going to survive you need to break. To paraphrase Ghostbusters, who or what are you going to call to break these codes? That's where Investopedia comes in.

Founded in 1999 by Cory Wagner and Cory Janssen, Investopedia became a Forbes Digital Company in April 2007. With Forbes behind Investopedia it is an essential business and financial tool, the most extensive financial dictionary available. While our focus here is on the dictionary, Investopedia is encyclopedic in scope covering all aspects of investing.

Investopedia features a searchable index as well as 11 separate dictionaries of terms grouped by specialized subsections including acronyms, buzzwords, bonds, stocks, foreign exchange, mutual funds, options and futures, retirement, trading, technical analysis, and taxes. ( Click on highlighted words for lists of terms and definitions. ) And, yes, you will find definitions for "short selling or positions" in the "stocks" section. Try to check any of these lists out without compulsively going from one term to another! This is nearly impossible! As above "like chocolate".

Under acronyms you'll find out what "apy" is; under buzzwords, what "back up the truck"means; under mutual funds, what "exchange privilege" means; under taxes, what
"gas guzzler tax" means; and so on. There are thousands of terms, each clearly defined. Want to know more. Each term refers to related terms. And on Investopedia there are extensive followup articles and tutorials, a veritable university of investing. Here's the link to tutorials on "short selling" Short sellers are investors who are betting a stock will fall in price but that's just the "short" of it. The lesson is in the link.

You will find Investopedia an essential business tool. It is free and we've just scratched the service in this post. Looking for books on investing, check out Investing For Dummies by Eric Tyson and Investing Online For Dummies by Kathleen Sindell. For dictionaries of finance see Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms by John Downes and Dictionary of Financial Terms by Virginia B. Morris. All these books are available at the Berkshire Athenaeum or your local library.

While you're at it why not bookmark and subscribe to our blog!

The Search Engine Wars ( In the News )

It's not often that a brand new search engine enters the fray against the super search giant Google. But that's what happened Monday, July 28, with the birth and arrival of Cuil (pronounced Cool ), the newest and, according to them, the largest search engine on the internet. Cuil indexes 122 billion web pages; at least that's their goal.

The awkwardly named Cuil is gaelic for knowledge according to founders Tom Costello and Anna Patterson. Cuil is a new business start up funded at the 33 million dollar level mostly by venture capital from Madrone Capital, Tugboat Ventures and Greylock Partners. The founders and their chief associates are all veterans of the search engine wars, having worked on Google's major search indexes, Ebay search, AltaVista and AltaVista's Babelfish ( their translation engine ). The founders believe their contribution to search is a focus on relevance and comprehensive content and not simply page counts. They argue their search results will be more meaningful to users. So far, that remains to be seen.

Announcements of Cuil and its taking on of Google heightened expectations of all trying to use Cuil Monday. Birth of the site was not without considerable pain. The site stalled, often froze, and when results were returned they were often irrelevant and sometimes even bizarre; hardly a notable beginning for a major search engine. The initial response was overwhelming. There were an estimated 50 million hits the first day. Servers had to be upgraded right away to accept the traffic. Inc Magazine staff blogger, Jason Del Rey, reported that a search for "Inc Magazine" could not find its web site ("site not found"). By the time of this posting Inc Magazine returns the correct results, although there are still problems; many of the results are not relevant.

Search results still leave a lot to be desired. We tried searching "fannie mae", knowing that Congress and the President had signed new legislation ostensibly propping up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Cuil's "relevancy" search only returned the Fannie Mae home page, but no news about Fannie Mae or the crisis it was undergoing on a daily basis in the stock market, housing market, or in Congress. Indeed, the results were the "public" face of Fannie Mae on which there was little or no news about what it was going through. In other words if you wanted to know "about Fannie Mae" and its context and problems, you could not find that through Cuil. Hence no knowledge! A Google search on "fannie mae" returned in depth information about the company and what was happening to it. So much for Cuil's "comprehensive" search capacity.

Google has not become the gold standard of search by sitting on its laurels. Throughout the years it has put considerable effort into bettering and expanding its search capacity. But Cuil has identified vulnerability in Google and its data collection sometimes invasive approach. For example Cuil guarantees a non invasive privacy policy, focusing on the search not the searcher. But it will have to get much better in returning relevant search results before it can be considered a first rate contender with Google. Right now it can't be considered a first stop for search. It is a start up with lots of growing pains to be gotten through quickly if it is to be a contender. Beyond search it will have to work on its business model to develop a strong revenue base. Cuil has much talent and promise. It will be worth watching as will be Google's response.

For books on Google and its significance see David A Vise's The Google Story, John Battelle's The Search: How Google and its rivals rewrote the rules of business and transformed our culture, and Building Your Business With Google For Dummies by Brad Hill, all available at the Berkshire Athenaeum or your local library.

The Big Green Books (Essential Business Tools)

That's how people referred to the Thomas Register, long the principal business and information source for industrial suppliers, manufacturers, purchasers, and businesses nationally and, recently, worldwide. Published in book form by the Thomas Publishing Company from its inception in 1898 until 2006, the Thomas Register once consisted of 34 1000 + page books, known by their distinctive green covers bordered in black, and listed any product manufactured from the smallest part to the largest assembly, an all inclusive catalog of the industrial manufacturing process. It was also part of every public library's core business reference collection.

In 2006 Thomas Publishing stopped publishing the Thomas Register in book form and became an online only exhaustive survey of manufacturing, calling itself ThomasNet.com. The website is very deep in content, a veritable one stop shop for buyers and manufacturers. Here's how ThomasNet describes itself:

"From a single search box users can search over 607,000 industrial suppliers, indexed by 70,000 product and service categories, and have access to thousands of industrial product catalogs and over 20 million CAD drawings. ThomasNet.com also offers a library of over 800 white papers and case studies on product applications, processes and technologies." Other features include daily industrial news blogs, extensive information on industry trends, discussion forums, RSS feeds and alerts in all areas. If you are looking for news and intelligence on industry ThomasNet should be your first stop.

ThomasNet sees its main function as putting buyers and suppliers in contact with each other. Suppose you are looking for adhesive tape suppliers in Western Massachusetts, ThomasNet's indexing supplies quick links to dozens of local suppliers and manufacturers, together with links to their catalogs, specifications, CAD drawings and websites. ThomasNet also offers a free website evaluation service and free purchasing tools, where purchasers can place Requests For Proposals (RFPs), suppliers place bids for contracts, and bids may be tracked.

ThomasNet also allows companies to register a free profile and to place their catalogs and specifications on their site. Individual users may set up their own free MyThomas accounts, subscribe to industry alerts and news and customize according to their interests. ThomasNet sees itself as covering everything from "actuators to zirconium"

If you are in business and you are looking for parts suppliers ThomasNet is your starting point. Government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, large and small businesses, use ThomasNet. For libraries ThomasNet is still a core reference source; only it is now online. Its indexing is excellent. You can find what you're looking for very quickly. CAD ( computer assisted design ) drawings, often in 3 dimensional display allow engineers and architects the opportunity to select and preview a critical part. White papers allow shared intelligence in critical areas. ThomasNet free tools facilitate the contracting process.

All in all ThomasNet is an essential business tool, a qualitative expansion of the Thomas Register into an online utility. It's even maintained its distinctive green coloring and black accented borders in the online version. And, if that were not enough, Thomas Publishing has expanded its supply/purchasing catalog worldwide through ThomasGlobal.com, modeled after ThomasNet. ThomasGlobal allows you the opportunity to make contact with suppliers/manufacturers in 28 countries, including China and India, the world's fast growing markets.

You will want to Bookmark the ThomasNet site for your business.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, IndyMac ( In the News )

Everywhere you turned during the last week, you could not avoid bumping into these acronyms. Just who or what is Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and IndyMac? In what ways are they related if any? What is their relation to the current economic crisis? Where can I learn more?

Let's start with Fannie Mae, also known as the Federal National Mortgage Association(FNM on the New York Stock Exchange). The Federal National Mortgage Association was formed in 1938 during President Franklin Roosevelt's second term. From 1938 to 1968 Fannie Mae was a government agency. In 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson, it was privatized, becoming a government sponsored agency( GSE ), owned by private shareholders. From 1938 to 1970 it controlled the secondary mortgage housing market. In 1970 to provide competition congress formed Freddie Mac, also known as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association ( FLMA on the New York Stock Exchange). Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are Government Sponsored Enterprises. Together they control the secondary mortgage market in the United States. They are regulated by Housing and Urban Development's Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

What is the secondary mortgage market and how does it work? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase housing loans/mortgages made by US banks. ( They do not deal in individual loans to homebuyers.) They then bundle those loans into securities for sale on Stock Exchanges. Typically banks, national and international investors purchase these securities which represents, currently, 5 trillion dollars of debt. This is the significance of these two large banks. Should they
fail a worldwide economic crisis would be precipated. So Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac promote the American dream of home ownership by purchasing and selling housing debt.

What if the debt that is being sold is bad debt and not secured? An unknown percentage of their holdings is bad debt caused by individual bank's subprime loan practices. These are essentially unsecured mortgages lent to individuals who could not pay their loans as mortgage prices increased. Unpaid mortgages have led to foreclosures, and compounded foreclosures have led to liquidity crises for banks. In the case of the Pasadena, California bank, IndyMac, these bad loans led to a 1.5 billion dollar loss in five days, a run on the bank by panicked depositors, declaration of bank failure by the the Treasury Department's Office of Thrift Supervision and Federal takeover by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ( FDIC ). another Great Depression agency founded under Franklin Roosevelt's auspices 75 years ago in 1933 to restore confidence in banks after their widespread failure.

IndyMac as of Monday, July 14, became IndyMac Federal Bank. Shareholders lost everything. Depositors of 100,000 dollars or less and IRAs of 250,000 or less are guaranteed. Uninsured depositors such as mutual funds may receive up to 50% as IndyMac's assets are sold off. IndyBank has billions of dollars in assets much of it gained through their subprime loans. As a side note, Sheila Bair, Chairman of the FDIC, is former professor of financial regulation, Islenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, with many years of experience as a regulator. She is actively involved in the IndyMac takeover.

On Sunday July 13, the Federal Reserve acted to guarantee support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose stocks had fallen below $10 a share. Should they need it Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be able to obtain direct assistance from the Reserve. The Berkshire Eagle interviewed several local bankers who saw little or no effect locally.

There has been extensive coverage of the financial crisis in the business media. Particularly noteworthy are thorough reports in Money Magazine online and Business Week. Where these crises are heading is still to be determined. Investigations have started and legislation is being developed.

The Berkshire Athenaeum has several books in its collection that can be helpful in understanding these important trends. Here are some: Surviving Financial Disasters by Tiffany R. Love; The Fed: the inside story of how the world's most powerful financial institutution drives the markets by Martin Mayer; The Foreclosures.com guide to advanced investing techniques you won't learn anywhere else by Alexis McGee; The Everything Guide to Buying Foreclosures by George Sheldon, and, for a historical perspective, Conrad R. Stein's The New Deal: pulling America out of the Great Depression.

Investing the Templeton Way ( On Our Bookshelf )

For many the stock market is a mystery. With its current volatility what is the best strategy? How can anyone predict it or make money? How can you reduce risk? Can you handicap the market as you would a horse? Just as there are race track scholars, so, too, you have your students of the market. These are the successful investors. And each has a philosophy that guides them. One of the market's most successful investors, John Templeton, died Tuesday, July 8 in his adopted country, The Bahamas, at the age of 95. Among investment circles John Templeton was as well known as Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, and his secrets have been sought by those who would emulate his success.

In her book, Investing the Templeton Way: the Market Beating Strategies of Value Investing's Legendary Bargain Hunter, Lauren C. Templeton dispenses the wisdom and experience of her great-uncle. His basic philosophy was to "buy low and sell high"; not an unusual idea for investors. However his approach was distinctly contrarian, not going according to the crowd or market panic.

Templeton's approach is Value not Price. When the price of a quality good is discounted, purchase it at a price you determine is beneficial to you. Never pay full price for the good. Weigh the value of the good over time. He developed the idea of "Maximum pessimism". A crash is a good time to buy ( good value stocks available cheaply due to mass downward turns ) . Conversely when there is mass euphoria with stock prices going up and up, Templeton argues that is the best time to sell your stock; that is take advantage of overvalue.

A recent article in Forbes magazine, reflecting on Templeton's death, said the rampant pessimism in today's stock market, was Templeton's kind of market. He would be seeking bargains and buying.

To be the success he was Templeton had to have other tools in his toolbag. He formed the Templeton Funds in the 1950s and was investing globally when no one else was. He invested in Japan in the 1960s. He developed the concept of a diversified portfolio. A cardinal investing sin would be to put "all your eggs in the same basket". His funds were so successful over a 40 year span, that when he sold his fund in 1992 it was for 440 million dollars.

During his lifetime Templeton gave freely of his advice. Another recent Forbes artice provides 8 essential lessons for the investor from him. And on the Franklin Templeton fund website there is a lengthy article by Templeton, 16 Rules for Investment Success. In all Templeton offers a strategic, disciplined approach to market success. His great-niece's book offers vivid testimony to the continuing value of Templeton's approach.

Lauren C. Templeton's book is available at the Berkshire Athenaeum, where you will also find a wide selection of books on personal finance and investing.

The Wal-Mart Effect ( On our Bookshelf )

How do they do it?

How does Wal-Mart (recently changed to Walmart) have such low prices? How did it become the largest retail store in the world? How did it become the world's largest, most often visited, grocery store in the world? And, how do they, year after year, in all kinds of economic conditions, maintain their low prices, high volume, and continue to grow and expand?

Charles Fishman, senior editor at Fast Company magazine, set out to answer some of these questions, producing what Economist magazine called the best business book of 2006, The Wal-Mart Effect - How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works - How it's Transforming the American Economy. A paperback edition came out in 2007 with a new chapter and as Walmart is always in the news, his book remains timely and up-to-date.

Fishman, who is an investigative reporter, researched his book without the cooperation of Walmart, which at the time of his research was notably secretive about its practices. Nevertheless, Fishman wrote a balanced book, seeking to understand Walmart without condemning or glorifying. Some things he found:

Walmart employs 2 million plus people in the United States alone. Walmart also has the highest employee turnover rate, nearly 50%. Despite this it is the major employer in most states in the United States. Shopping at Walmart for groceries, you will save 15% over any other grocery store, supermarket or otherwise. Walmart has 1 billion dollars in sales per day. When Walmart opens a Supercenter, it adds 500 jobs to an area. However, within that area over 5 years 450 non Walmart retail jobs are lost. Walmart sticks closely to its "Always Low Prices. Always" motto even though their own profit margins are notoriously low at 36 cents on a $10 sale.

Walmart makes its money based on volume. Suppliers want that volume. Walmart buys to supply all their stores. To contract with Walmart brings sales to suppliers but also lower prices to Walmart as they persistently drive prices down as the cost of doing business with them. Low prices this year are expected to be lower still the next year. Fishman explores clearly the effect of this low price strategy on consumers, suppliers, local businesses and communities, national and global economies.

Walmart's emphasis has resulted in major changes in the packaging industry. In fact there are few industries that have not been impacted by Walmart's emphasis. It's made its suppliers much more efficient. Its distribution and inventory systems have helped its own efficiencies and Walmart's practices have been seen as a major counter in combating inflation.

Since Fishman's book came out, Walmart has been changing. It has announced a "green" or sustainability initiative. It is now supporting purchases with local farmers. It has become a major pharmaceutical provider and initiated $4 per generic drug prescription. This has forced other pharmacies to follow suit. Also many employee suits are wending their ways through the court system and Walmart is having to settle.

If you want to understand the Wal-Mart Effect, Fishman's book is for you. If you are planning to do business with Wal-Mart, this book will be an eye-opener. Also Walmart has not only changed its logo, but its motto. While the "low prices always" is the back drop, its new motto is "Save Money, Live Better".

The Wal-Mart Effect is available at the Berkshire Athenaeum and other public libraries.

GAS PRICES IN THE NEWS

Let's face it! Gas prices have fluctuated wildly over the last year. Budgeting for businesses, municipalities, families and individuals has been affected dramatically. Business plans have not anticipated the current $1 per gallon increase in gas prices from July 2007 to now. Last year in July regular unleaded gas was $3.079; today's price, $4.102. When you look at diesel prices, increases are even more dramatic. The current price is $4.926; last year at this time, $3.051. These prices are for Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Nationally, the prices vary little from Pittsfield, though they are lower. The national average for regular unleaded gas currently is $4.073; last year, $2.998 per gallon. Diesel nationally is $4.791 per gallon; last year, $2.895. Prices cited here are gathered on a regular basis by the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the Oil Price Information Service in AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. AAA provides this report daily to the media and for public use. AAA also provides daily gas prices for Massachusetts metropolitan regions.

These tools are helpful to communities trying to gauge the impact of prices and to plan accordingly. One impact has been increased pressure on small businesses such as your local gas stations. A recent Business Week article, When Gas Stations Run Out of Gas, explores this problem in detail. For example the article notes the effect of credit card sales on stations. Margins are low and credit card charges amount to 5 cents a gallon to the owner. Last year 3184 stations closed. This year, on June 12, Exxon/Mobil announced that it is getting out of the retail gasoline business, that they will be selling their 2225 United States filling stations and convenience stores.

Trucking represents the chief engine of goods distribution in the United States. High diesel prices are showing their effects. Independent truckers (small businesses) are feeling the crunch as well as large fleet owners. Prices of crude, now at $137 a barrel affect the larger petroleum based economy. Everything from plastic bottles to polyester, lipstick to asphalt share petroleum bases. And, of course, energy costs, too, have increased and continue to increase.

Through its daily reports AAA is helping us keep our fingers on the ever shifting pulse of gas prices. It has also developed another tool, AAA Gas Price Finder. With this tool, you can find the cheapest gas prices in your community. Just put your zip code in and check radius of 3, 5, or 10 miles and AAA lists gas stations and provides a map locating the gas stations, with up-to-the- minute prices. Easy access to the AAA tools, the fuel price reports and Gas Price Finder have been provided In The Berkshires section of the About Business blog.

As library patrons at the Berkshire Athenaeum encounter these problems, there are frequent questions about cars, gas mileage, and prices. As patrons try to fathom what's going on, there are some library sources they can use. For example, there is a major reference book, Energy For the 21s Century : a Comprehensive Guide to Conventional and Alternative Sources by Roy L Nersesian. This puts the current situation in context with detailed discussions, as an example, of the 1973 oil and gas crisis. Other resources are the annual EPA Fuel Economy Guide. ( EPA does the mileage breakdowns, posted on new and used cars.) Other resources available in most libraries are the N.A.D.A. price rating books for new and used cars. It is a mark of the times that these resources are requested throughout the library day.

Gas prices are likely to continue to go up or at the least maintain the $4 rate. By using some of the tools discussed here, you'll be able to keep informed and up-to-date, and plan accordingly.

JACK WELCH PODCASTS -- THE WELCH WAY

There used to be a television ad about EF Hutton brokerage firm, "When E.F. Hutton talks -- others listen!", picturing people stopping in their tracks to listen to E.F. Hutton. Now there is no E.F. Hutton, or the brokerage firm, and you might be scratching your head trying to remember who this was!

Jack Welch is different. His long term success at General Electric as their CEO is still remembered and he is still consulted. Since 2006 Jack Welch and his wife Suzy have conducted a weekly audio podcast in association with Business Week magazine. The podcast, called "The Welch Way" can be accessed via the Business Week website. You need Quicktime to listen to the podcast on your personal computer. Quicktime is an application included with most Windows operating systems.

Jack and Suzy Welch have covered a wide range of business topics from "Whose company is it?", "What's right about Wal-Mart?", "Good boss versus bad boss", "The real verdict on business", to "Customer loyalty's new rules", "Trim the fat not the service", "Work-life choices", and "Is China for everyone?". Business Week is providing a unique forum and access to one of the main business leaders of the last 20 years. When Jack Welch speaks, others still listen.

The library has several books by and about Jack Welch. One, Jack Welch Speaks: wisdom of the world's greatest business leader, will be of interest as predecessor to the current podcasts.

START YOUR OWN BLOGGING BUSINESS(On our Bookshelf)

You're thinking about how to promote and build your business. You've heard about blogs. Can they be a serious way of generating business? Can they make money? How much time is involved? Where can I learn more about blogs, costs in terms of time and money, and how to start my own blog?

Let's take a look at some of these questions. Blogs are not new anymore. Many books have been written about them and are available at the Berkshire Athenaeum or your local library. One book, Start Your Own Blogging Business -Generate Income from Advertisers, Subscribers, Merchandising and More, written by Entrepreneur Press and J.S. McDougall, is an excellent resource for addressing your blogging interest. In a short 200 pages range of topics from what is a blog, why blog, through free and pay blog software, time and cost considerations, generating income from blogs, and day to day managing considerations are covered.

When considering a blog, you need to view it as a business and develop a business plan for it. Google's Blogger gives you a quick way of setting up your blog. The book covers other options as well. Your blog can be free of advertising or include advertising. Choices are clearly outlined and discussed. If you decide, after weighing your options, to create a blog, this book will get you started on the way. And you will want to reference it often once you've begun.

The number of business blogs are growing rapidly. Technorati, an organization dedicated keeping tracking statistics on blogs, counted 2276 business blogs recently(June 12) and well over 1 million articles referencing business on the internet. You can access these blogs by going to Technorati's Business Blog Directory.

Think of your library as a continuing resource on this and other business needs. Bookmark our blog if you find the information here helpful. We welcome your comments.

5 MINUTES!!

With the price of everyday expenses, food, gas, housing, fluctuating wildly, it becomes increasingly important to keep your finger on the pulse, to keep up with news that affects your business, your business plan, your life and your customer's lives. How to do this? How much time to allocate to keeping informed? These are important questions you're asking as you organize your day.

It's possible to keep up-to-date allocating 5 minutes a day, first thing every morning. How is this possible? Let's take Yahoo Finance as an example. Yahoo Finance gathers daily headlines and stories from major business and finance news providers. This is a free service. Providers include a wide range from Business Week, Wall Street Journal's Marketwatch, the New York Times, Financial Times, Inc and Entrepreneur magazines, the Associated Press and Reuters, Forbes, SmartMoney, Fortune, Morningstar, CNBC, CNN Money, USA Today, US News and World Report, TheStreet.com and the Motley Fool. Click on the headline of your choice and read the article. You can print and/or email the article. The Wall Street Journal and Barrons are included as a headline only service. You must be a paid subscriber to read their full articles.

How is Yahoo able to provide so much information on a timely, sometimes up to the minute, basis? This is done through an internet tool called RSS or "really simple syndication". It's a tool that allows instantaneous distribution of feeds to your desktop. Yahoo, through My Yahoo, allows you to pull together your own interests and feeds onto your own My Yahoo web page. This is a free service. You just need to register with Yahoo to use it. Or you can use the Yahoo Finance page to access these daily providers of business and finance news. Or, better yet, you can bookmark our blog and access your daily news through our Yahoo Business and Finance link.

By using a site like Yahoo Finance you can be up-to-date in 5 minutes and plan the rest of your day accordingly. Of course, you may find yourself spending more time than you want. The resource is there when you want it. As an aside not all the Yahoo providers may be up-to-date. The Economist and Entrepreneur feeds were outdated. All others were current. But, as a first stop resource for business and financial news from a wide range of sources, Yahoo Finance is an excellent starting place. Check it out!!

NOT JUST A MAGAZINE ANYMORE

So you thought a magazine was just a magazine -- flat, bound paper pages that you read and discarded. You read it at a library, bought it at a newstand or bookstore, or subscribed to it. If you wanted a back issue, you went to the library or bought it from the publisher, if they still had it. With the internet now the dominant source of distribution, that's all changed. This is true for all magazines, but in particular, it's true for Business magazines. Entrepreneur Magazine is a case in point.

Entrepreneur's target audience is small business, particularly startups. It is both a monthly print magazine and a daily online presence. (Click on the underlined link to access the site.) It provides support and advice for all aspects of starting up and maintaining a business It does so in a variety of formats including articles from the magazine and special online only articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos. It also features free access to full text archives of the magazine going back to 1998. As many libraries have cut backfiles due to space issues, this is an increasingly important service. (Unfortunately, Entrepreneur does not have a searchable index of their back issues.)

Entrepreneur also incorporates many web 2.0 techniques, such as interactive forums to build a community of like minded people seeking answers to questions about starting up a business, obtaining financing, sales and marketing advice and networking. You can link, share, comment based on your own interest or need. You may also subscribe to free email newsletters and alerts on your area of interest. There is also an extensive content area devoted to women entrepreneurs. (Click on the underlined link to visit.)

The Entrepreneur site is well organized, useful, and diverse. Entrepreneur also is a publisher of small business oriented books many of which are staples in public library business area. The internet has challenged the publishing industry to broaden its scope into the online world; that or perish. Entreprenur has risen to the challenge and has provided an ongoing useful site to the small business person. It is committed to providing the tools you need to succeed and prosper. In a future post I will focus on one of Entrepreneur's most promising tools. It's called Entrepreneur Assist. In the meantime check out the Entrepreneur site and let us know what you think!!
It's not just a magazine, anymore!