About Business

This Book Is Overdue! or The Future of Libraries (On Our Bookshelf)

2010-08-31T11:48:00.002-04:00

Ever wonder about libraries and whether they will be around 10, 20 years from now? How about librarians? What do they really do? How do they manage to survive in the current economic climate of cutbacks, cutbacks, cutbacks? And of course there is the problem of low pay. In fact libraries have been closing or due to fiscal cutbacks in cities and states, their hours may have been slashed and book budgets reduced and yet librarians have a strong will to serve to provide access to all regardless of background.

Then there are the trends in libraryland towards online libraries, shifting from books and magazine to electronic access to information. There is the challenge of new and multiple technologies, which libraries must adjust to and master, and master they do. Libraries are often in the advance guard techologically and, after all, indexing and subject analysis are what libraries have been good at and these skills are fundamental to online databases, even Google in its massive search indexes.

But it is a fact, libraries are changing with the rest of the society. So, now, along comes one of best books of 2010, This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All, by Marilyn Johnson, author of Dead Beat. She wanted to know where libraries are now and where are they going. While Ms Johnson is a journalist, her report represents several years of research, interviewing and doing participant observation work much as a sociologist or anthropologist. What she has produced is a definitive work on libraries and where they are going and she provides a very readable experience that allows behind the scenes appreciation of the struggles librarians undergo to provide continuous service and access now and into the future. She puts a human face to libraryland, cuts through stereotypes, and shows the marvelous diversity of libraries, librarians and displays it warts and all.

Reading Johnson's book you will learn about problems associated with computerization, the migration from library automated system to another, life in public libraries, specialized libraries, large Public Research libraries such as the New York Public, reductions in space forcing collections out, the discarding of previously sacred Reference materials, the struggle to maintain and archive for future readers and researchers critical primary sources, the effect of forces attempting to invade privacy of library card holders, the effect of the Patriot Act and libraries at the Connecticut State Library who fought to maintain First Amendment Right even under threat of possible jail time. She tells the story of Radical librariians, tattooed librarians and Second Life librarians.

Libraries have always fought to preserve access. Your library card and what you read is protected by libraries. Marilyn Johnson writes about the history of libraries and their struggles.
Second Life is an online community, where people develop their characters and avatars. Johnson focuses on a group of real life librarians who decide that it would be found to stake out a part of the Second Life community and created avatars and characters along with a Reference Desk in Second Life. Who were these real life librarians playing their roles in the virtual world as well as the physical world? Johnson created her own character and avatar and started playing a role and investigated Libraryland in Second Life. Finally she was able to meet in the physical world some of these role players. It is a fascinating story.

Whatever Johnson tackles in This Book Is Overdue, she provides indepth, accurate coverage and there is never a dull moment! This is an extremely fine work and hugely entertaining. If you are curious about librarians and libraries; if you love libraries and want to see them preserved; if you are interested in what makes libraries tick, then READ THIS BOOK! It provides loads of insight and represents where we are now in the physical, online, and virtual road.

Marilyn Johnson will be at the Forbes Library in Northampton, Wednesday, September 15, starting at 7pm. She'll do readings from her book, answer questions and sigh your book. For librarians and non librarians. Find out where libraries are going.

And now I have to go because This Book Is Overdue! You'll find it at the Berkshire Athenauem and other libraries.

BP and Gas Prices

2010-07-29T21:59:00.007-04:00

News about BP ( the former British Petroleum ) is everywhere since the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil well explosion and resultant millions of barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf since June affecting the livelihoods of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida residents, businesses, and workers. The recently capped well has slowed the spilling but the impact and clean up will likely go on for years.

BP ( www.bp.com ) issued a press release today noting they have already paid out $256 million in claims and have set aside 30 plus billion dollars for clean up, restoration of the Gulf, and further claims. The BP website has much information on it soliciting ideas, help, and providing round the clock access to video feeds on the oil well site. There you will find news of former CEO Tony Hayward stepping down in October 2010 and being replaced by American born and former Louisiana resident Robert Dudley, who is currently in charge of BP's cleanup operations. And there is extensive coverage on the site of BP efforts and responses to the ongoing disaster.

In light of the ongoing Gulf crisis many are wondering about the larger oil situation, namely the effect of the Gulf disaster on gas prices. What has been the effect? What will be the effect in the future? This disaster is not a natural one, such as a hurricane or tornado, but a result of human error, mistakes and lack of foresight to say the least. It is not the result of oil futures speculation that was rampant 2 years ago this month, when gas prices at the pump rose to over $4 a gallon of regular and a barrel of oil rose to $150 and brought about the collapse of the American auto industry.

So what is the effect? The answer is not what one would expect with the loss of so much oil. There has been almost no effect on gas prices. Summer is the season when gas prices generally increase. Not so thus far this year. Gas prices since Memorial Day have changed little, hovering between $2.60 and $2.80 per gallon of regular. See gasbuddy.com's Massachusetts Gas Prices for up to the minute prices in your area. This link provides current Pittsfield area's lowest prices, which are between $2.65 and $2.69 per gallon. Average Massachusetts price is $2.68. And the national average on this day is $2.74. Gasbuddy also displays a barometer measuring the direction of gas prices; currently they are going up.

Why has there been no effect on the market for oil? Future traders who traded up the price per barrel dramatically 2 years ago are laying in wait. So far prices per barrel of oil are less than $80. While prices are increasing, it's very slow, and there has been a surplus of oil. The demand has not been there. That's the lesson of the past 2 years. Consumers have conserved and cut back on their appetite for large gas guzzling cars, are investing in more economy minded cars, and taking shorter vacations. And there has been government pressure on the auto industry to supply cars with higher gas use efficiency. The recession has produced high unemployment, housing foreclosures, and stabilized gas prices.

The continuing Gulf oil crisis demonstrates forcefully the impact of spills on the environment, wildlife, tourism, local businesses, and the overall quality of life. Still oil touches every sphere of life in the global economy. Oil byproducts produce clothing, plastics, electricity. It is a foundation commodity for modern life and is why wars are fought, to control who has access the these resources. Of course, there is the current thrust from government to wean ourselves from dependence on oil, but it is likely that it is economic development and competition between governments such as China, the United States, Japan, and Europe for this resource that will determine our future. And that competition is over oil resources. Ultimately this competition will determine prices and quality of life far more the Gulf oil spill.

Oil companies have seen that the future will depend on more diversified resources such as Natural Gas. Still Exxon Mobil, which has been investing in natural gas, recently announced its 2nd quarter net profit as $7.56 billion, a 91% increase over same quarter in 2009.

So it appears that the Gulf of Mexico crisis has had little effect on oil company profits beyond that of BP, which is still profitable, though weakened.

Gas prices this summer have been remarkably stable.

Business Magazines on Twitter and Facebook

2010-06-28T15:41:00.015-04:00

In our last About Business posting "Top 5 Social Networks for June 2010", we noted Facebook had more than 400 million members and Twitter more than 80 million. This represents a stunning potential and opportunity for Businesses and business marketing. Business magazines are employing Twitter and Facebook to reach, keep, and expand their audiences.

There currently is no directory listing access to Business Magazines' Twitter and Facebook accounts. In the interest of providing access to these accounts, we have researched and compiled the following listing:

1) Business Week, now called Bloomberg Business Week as of January 2010:
http://twitter.com/bw; www.facebook.com/BloombergBusinessweek

2) Entrepreneur Magazine:
http://twitter.com/entmagazine; www.facebook.com/EntMagazine

3) Financial Times (daily newspaper):
http://twitter.com/financialtimes (At the time of this post could not locate a
Financial Times Facebook page.

4) Forbes Magazine: http://twitter.com/FORBES; www.facebook.com/forbes

5) Fortune Magazine:
http://twitter.com/Fortunemagazine; www.facebook.com/FortuneMagazine

6) Inc Magazine: http://twitter.com/incmagazine; www.facebook.com/Inc

7) Kiplingers Personal Finance: http://twitter.com/Kiplingermedia;

8) New York Times: http://twitter.com/nytimes/business-news
http;//twitter.com/nytimesbusiness; (No Facebook page found at time of this post.)

9) SmartMoney Magazine : http://twitter.com/smartmoney;
www.facebook.com/SmartMoney

10) Wall Street Journal (Daily newspaper; no Sunday): http://twitter.com/wsj;
www.facebook.com/wsjonline

It's worth noting that these are the main twitter and facebook accounts for these publications. Editors and writers of these publications have their own twitter and facebook accounts and some are quite prolific. But these are the official twitter and facebook accounts. They are both promotional, newsy, and afford direct interactions in all the ways of social media. It shows commitment to the social media world and is transforming business media and the way we interact. With facebook a real face is put to these formerly anonymous and distant enterprises. And comments are invited as is participation in development of business ideas and articles.

You may freely subscribe to, follow and befriend these business magazine twitter and facebook accounts. You will be able to keep up to date with business news using these sites. You may easily start your own twitter and facebook accounts as well and have your customers, family and friends follow your business enterprise as part of your overall business plan.

Publications named above are also part of the Berkshire Athenaeum subscription holdings, where we invite you to read them at your leisure.

Top 5 Social Networks For June 2010

2010-06-21T12:13:00.008-04:00

The continuing and expanding influence of social networks is undeniable. EbizMba continues to track social network statistics and they are very impressive. Click here for their most recent report on 20 top social networking sites. Here for About Business we're going to focus on the top 5.

The top 5 sites for June 2010 are:

1) Facebook (www.facebook.com). Facebook claims more than 400 million members. That's more than the entire population of the United States. According to EbizMba, Facebook receives 250 million unique visitors a month. That's alot of friends and family keeping in touch with each other. Tracking site Alexa places Facebook as the #2 most visited site in the world. Google is #1. People are probably using google to get to Facebook. At 250 milion visitors per month Facebook provides a very large opportunity for any business enterprise.

2) MySpace (www,myspace.com). While not given the media attention that Facebook and Twitter receive, MySpace is holding its own with 122 million unique visitors per month and ranks #17 on Alexa's most visited sites per month. So it seems Rupert Murdock's investment in MySpace is paying off at least in terms of popularity.

3) Twitter (www.twitter.com). Twitter can claim 80.5 million unique visitors per month. That's more tweets than Tweety Bird could imagine. In June 2010 it's the 11th most visited site on the Internet. Twitter is a micro blog (limited to 140 characters) and would seem to go hand in hand with Facebook or MySpace for that matter.

4) LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com). LinkedIn, as the 4th most popular social networking site, will be a surprise to many. However, LinkedIn is receiving 50 million unique visitors per month. This site is for networking professionals or anyone looking for or offering a job or contract. Major and minor, large and small businesses are all represented on LinkedIn, including every Fortune 500 company. According to Alexa it is the 29th most visited site on the internet.

5) Ning (www.ning.com). Ning is new to me. It characterizes itself as a network for organizers and "influencers" and is quick and easy to use in the same way as Facebook and Twitter. While new to me, it is attracting 42 million unique visitors per month. That's a lot of people interested in social change. More on Ning in a future post. It is the 128th most visited site on the Internet.

The continuing expansion and popularity of social networking sites means that your business neighborhood is now global and that it would be in your business interest to be represented on these sites to get the word out about your enterprises. There is enormous opportunity in this marketplace.

In my next post I'll show how Business Magazines are using these social networking sites.

As an aside, I'll add that Libraries, such as the Berkshire Athenaeum. now have blogs, Facebook and Twitter accounts and feature workshops enabling others to become active participants!

The Dow and Marketplace Happy Music!

2010-05-27T16:15:00.008-04:00

In our March 20 post about The Dow, we mentioned the evening reports from National Public Radio's Marketplace program where every time The Dow is down for the day, that they play the song, Stormy Weather. And during the past week there has been lots of Stormy Weather from The Dow.

A correspondent, who had read our post, asked what song does Marketplace play when The Dow is up at the end of the day? We're happy to bring you the answer to that question. When The Dow is up at the end of the day, Marketplace plays I'm In the Money, apropos for the daily winners! They will be playing I'm In The Money tonight about 6:45 p.m. That's because The Dow today closed at 4 p.m. on the New York Stock Exchange at 10,259, 284.54 point over yesterday's closing of 9974.

For what these numbers mean see our previous post here. When The Dow is up as today's results indicate, it means all 30 stocks showed increases in the number of sales. When The Dow is down as it was yesterday, it meant those 30 stocks were by their owners, meaning momentary losses to these bulwark companies, of which locally, General Electric was affected. When looked at over the past year all 30 Dow stock companies increased their value 20 to 30 per cent.

Day to day trading means little in the long term unless downs continue or ups continue for long periods. Otherwise in following The Dow daily you will be subject to the yo-yo effect or daily ups and downs that day traders feed on. Winning investors are those quite often in for the long term and who see long term benefits and value.

For short term investors and day traders, you have 'know when to hold'em and know when to fold'em!' to avoid the Stormy Weather music.

For those interested in learning more about investing, its risks and rewards, the Berkshire Athenaeum has several books available for loan, including Investing 101 by Kathy Kristoff, Wall Street's Buried Treasure: the low priced value investing approach to finding great stocks by Harry Houtkin, The Bogleheads' guide to Investing by Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer, Michael LeBoeuf with Introduction by John Bogle, and many others. And you will want to consult the Investopedia link on our sidebar or go directly there.

Always consider your local public library as a possible source for your financial information.

Do You Follow the DOW?

2010-05-20T14:39:00.005-04:00

If you are in business, have a pension or retirement plan, or are an investor, then DOW or the Dow Jones Industrial Index is part of your everyday vocabulary.

If you watch the News on Television, listen to the Radio, or view News Online, then you know the daily DOW numbers are reported all the time, often many times during the day.

A change in the DOW results in a great adrenaline rush. When the DOW goes down, the National Public Radio program, Marketplace, plays the song Stormy Weather. Lately there's been a lot of Stormy Weather and DOW has been falling from its recent 11,000 highs down to 10,100s.

In Feb 24, 2009 we wrote Dow Up, Dow Down! What Does It All Mean? At that time the DOW was at 7100 and a crash was apparent. So 11,000 or even 10,000 is better than February 2009. The DOW has increased by more than 50% since those lows. For what's behind these numbers click on the article.

The DOW is made up 30 carefully selected companies, selected by the Wall Street Journal editorial boards. These stocks are highly valued and fairly stable, but when General Motors and Citigroup dipped below $10 a share they were removed from the DOW and replaced by Travelers Companies and Cisco Systems.

When we want to know what's happening on the DOW, we check out 2 websites that are particularly good. The first site is Bloomberg.com where there are updates every 15 minutes and it lists ongoing activity for the 30 DOW stocks that make up the Index. (It also answers the reference question, What companies make up the DOW Jones Industrial Index?) The second site we like is MarketWatch.com, where it gives you minute by minute trading results and fluctuations on the DOW (not for those with heart conditions if volatility causes you great concern) like a ticker.

All kinds of people try to figure out what these ups and downs mean and commentators make regular prognostications. But there are no fixed answers and all the activity feeds into those fascinated with numbers games, statistics, and real life gambling.

When the DOW closed today at 4 pm Eastern Time, it had fallen to 10,068, 376 points from the previous day's closing of 10,444. Does this mean crash or correction or nothing at all? Such is the Market and only Time will tell its ultimate effects. But after 2008 the economy did go into a dramatic spin and now foreclosures, state bankruptcies, 9.9% unemployment rates, and dramatic 1st quarter 2010 profits were the effect. And financial reform after 2 years has still not happened.

Twitter Meets the Library of Congress

2010-04-15T22:34:00.008-04:00

At first the pairing of the venerable old Library of Congress(founded by Thomas Jefferson) with the vastly up-to-date social network and micro blog Twitter seems most unlikely. Yet yesterday, April 14, each, in separate postings, announced their highly significant partnership.

The Library of Congress disclosed in its twitter feed and in its blog that the world's largest library would house the digital archive of all twitter tweets since its inception in March 2006 and continuing. Title of their twitter and blog posts: "How tweet it is!" A takeoff on Jackie Gleason's Honeymooners phrase from Ralph Kramden, "How sweet it is!"

If you have ever "tweeted" your tweets will be archived there and, eventually, searchable. The twitter blog post "Twitter Preservation announced on its site its partnering with the Library of Congress with a great deal of excitement. Twitter estimates over 50 million tweets per day and growing. Each tweet is only 140 characters in length. If only 1% of these tweets per day were business related (and it's probably considerably more), that would be over 500,000 tweets for business each day. This indicates to me that daily tweets from your business "must" now be a part of any business plan.

The significance of this announcement cannot be underestimated. It puts the full prestige of the Library of Congress behind the supporting and archiving of major social networks and puts libraries in the forefront both as tweeters and preservers of this cultural phenomenon. You can follow the Library of Congress tweets @librarycongress. You can follow twitter's twitter account @twitter.

Twitter is only 140 characters in length and that is the title of a new book that is bound to the bible of twitter style. 140 Characters,A Style Guide For The Short Form, by Dom Sagolla is a book well worth investigating. It is endorsed by Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and author of the first tweet. Sagolla provides an instructive history of twitter, how the name came about, its originators, how 140 characters was decided on, major players, and its rapid evolution of being one of the top 10 goto sites in the world. It really is a style manual with do's and don'ts. Like twitter it has hundreds of short takes and is often amusing.

If you want to know about twitter in all its ramifications, you will want to read and keep this book as a working reference and style guide. You'll learn how to write effective tweets and you'll have fun too.

Twitter and Library of Congress announcements this week come during National Library Week, April 12 through April 17. It is a time to celebrate all libraries.

140 Characters by Dom Sagolla can be found at Pittsfield's Public Library, the Berkshire Athenaeum and at your local library.

Kudos to Twitter and the Library of Congress!

Some Business Terms of Endearment

2010-03-31T22:09:00.010-04:00

Was doing some searching on Investopedia today and came across some terms you might find interesting. Investopedia always yields results that are informative and often revealing. Investopedia is a subsidiary of Forbes We're calling this post "some business terms of endearment".

For example the term of the day is "sin tax".

"What Does Sin Tax Mean?
A state-sponsored tax that is added to products or services that are seen as vices, such as alcohol, tobacco and gambling. These type of taxes are levied by governments to discourage individuals from partaking in such activities without making the use of the products illegal. These taxes also provide a source of government revenue.

Investopedia explains Sin Tax
Sin taxes are typically added to liquor, cigarettes and other non-luxury items. State governments favor sin taxes because they generate an enormous amount of revenue and are usually easily accepted by the general public because they are indirect taxes that only affect those who use the products. When individual states run deficits, the sin tax is typically one of the first taxes recommended by lawmakers to help fill the budget gap."

Of course, in Massachusetts we hear almost daily the rewards that may come from building casinos. As in the various state lotteries, citizens voluntarily tax themselves for a chance to "hit it big" and then these "sin taxes" benefit the state coffers. Of course there are side effects and consequences, but also moments of hope and pleasure. Many institutions beside the state benefit. Many local businesses have seen revenue gains but also many paperwork demands and monitoring, such as in the area of selling cigarettes.

Back to Investopedia we came across the "buzzword" "affluenza". You've heard of influenza and your need for an annual flu shot. No such shots for affluenza. Here's what Investopedia says about this condition:

"What Does Affluenza Mean?
A social condition arising from the desire to be more wealthy, successful or to "keep up with the Joneses". Affluenza is symptomatic of a culture that holds up financial success as one of the highest achievements. People said to be affected by affluenza typically find that the very economic success they have been so vigorously chasing ends up leaving them feeling unfulfilled, and wishing for yet more wealth.

Investopedia explains Affluenza
Affluenza is arguably present in the United States, where the culture is one that prides itself on possessions and financial success. Mainstream media outlets, such as television broadcasts, tend to show how pervasive the idea has become.

While affluenza cannot be quantified easily, those wishing to avoid the condition should look to be the master of, not a slave to, the things they have or wish to obtain."

Now it could be argued that "sin taxes" and "affluenza" are related and that the recent stock market collapse was also related leading to near bankruptcy in many states, the bailout of major financial institutions such as CitiGroup, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Fannie Mae, as well high gas prices, mortgage foreclosures and 10% national unemployment, 10.6% /in Pittsfield. Of course "playing the market" could viewed as a form of gambling. Individual losses have wreaked havoc on state revenues and pillaged state pension funds.

We encourage you to get a daily dose of Investopedia. We end today's post with the phrase "a ton of money" Do you know what a ton of money is? According to Investopedia:

"What Does A Ton Of Money Mean?
A slang term used to describe a significant amount of money. The amount implied typically depends on the person, company or situation.

Investopedia explains A Ton Of Money
We may all have a different idea of what constitutes a "ton of money", but according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, a ton of $1 bills amounts to $908,000 - nearly $1 million!
If you're talking about a ton of coins, then it's a different story - a ton of quarters is worth $40,000, and one ton of pennies (363,000 pennies to be exact) is worth $3,630."

A weighty matter for the end of March or something to think about when April 15 comes.

April/May 2010 Berkshire Athenaeum Workshops Announced

2010-03-15T22:58:00.008-04:00

Today is the "ides of March" - March 15. Caesar, rightfully, had a sense of foreboding this day. But you don't have to worry because you are not Caesar. And the announcement of new computer workshops to be held in April and May does not bring a sense of foreboding. Instead it's a sense of anticipation and looking forward to good things happening at the Berkshire Athenaeum even in the face of municipal cutbacks and reduction of hours.

This will be the 2nd set of workshops to be held in 2010. The first set was held during January and February. This time around there will be a wide variety of offerings. Each workshop is one hour and will be held in the evenings and on Saturdays. Starting Saturday, April 3 with 10 FreeWebsites You Will Want to Consult Regularly and ending Wednesday evening, May 26, with Word 2007 Tables, there will be over a dozen workshops.

Workshops offered will include many with a web 2.0 orientation, including ones on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Blogs and Blogging. Microsoft Office 2007 workshops will include Word Basics and Advanced, Excel 101 and 102. Other workshops are Job Search Resources in Learning Express, how to be a Smart Consumer, Gmail, and Going Mobile.

Workshops fill up quickly and preregistration is required. It's easy to register. Just call 413-499-4980, ext 202 and have your name added or drop in at the Reference Desk and sign up for the workshop(s) of your choice. Did I mention that all workshops are Free?! Well, they are! So while you are thinking about it, why don't you give us a call?

For the full list of workshops, descriptions and times click here.

See you in April and May. You won't have to 'beware of the ides of March!'

Your Favorite 20 Most Popular eBusiness Websites - Part 2

2010-02-28T19:44:00.007-05:00

This is Part 2 of our posts on Top Business Websites as tracked by ebizmba, the self-described Knowledge Database. What ebizmba does is combine tracking statistics provided by Google (inbound links), Compete, Quantcast and Alexa and comes up with a monthly list or rankings of Most Popular Business Websites and in today's case the 20 Most Popular and Influential eBusiness Websites. If Part 1 was Your Favorite Business websites, most of these cites were known to you and that's why they are so popular. They have your attention.

The most popular and therefore influential "eBusiness websites" are more oriented to the backbone of the internet and what makes it tick, the technology industry, search engine marketers, venture capital investors and those who need to know what's the next big thing in order to survive the fast paced changes in this ever dynamic environment. Google and Microsoft are betting on cloud computing, social networks, developing new business plans for media and industry overall, indeed the very survival of media companies. These eBusiness websites are on the cutting edge and are both suppliers of industry intelligence to mass media and are creators of new benchmarks in technology, producing new models, white papers, in depth research, product reviews, downloads, webcasts, podcasts and are constantly developing, charting, and marketing strategies. These websites carry great authority in that industry insiders and investors are the chief audience.

While Part 1 focused on websites with hundreds of millions of visitors on a monthly basis, here zdnet had the most @ 48 million inbound links and techcrunch had 10 million inbound links. In terms of individual visitors each of the top 20 ebusiness sites has between 450,000 and 2,000,000 visitors. That these sites' audiences are hardcore technology and trendsetters, they have become must reads for industry, media, government policy-makers and developers. Another way of putting it is that first discussions of significant trends happen on these sites. If you want to know what's going on in the internet, these sites are the most important starting points.

What each of these sites has in common is the commitment to the future, critical reviews, product analysis, downloads, having a strong sense of the significance of statistics, business models, new marketing models, and commitment to advancing the internet in all its various forms. Further there is commitment to competing models whether open source or proprietary, Microsoft versus Google versus Apple, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These sites are the advance guard.

That said I believe it's important to be aware of these websites, which are eBusinesses, media networks, and blogs. Some are supported by the Wall Street Journal, and CBS, and supply technology and business feeds to Business Week, New York Times, Reuters and the financial media. Here, then, are the 20 Most Popular and Influential eBusiness Websites as of February 2010 according to ebizmba:

1) Zdnet.com - This is a major technology news provider. Its coverage is wider in scope than some of the other sites. It includes white papers, blogs, up to date news coverage, product reviews, downloads of software and utilities, user ratings of software, webcasts, videos and podcasts. A CBS company.
2) Techcrunch.com keeps up with technology trends and has emphasis on impact of technology on business enterprise. Views itself as on the cutting edge.
3) ArsTechnica.com - also provides indepth articles on Windows 7, Facebook, video gaming business, and technology trends.
4) Cnetnews.com - Like ZDnet, covers whole scope of internet with articles, blogs, industry forecasts, videos, product downloads and reviews. Keeps its finger on the pulse.
5) Mashable.com - One of the most significant technology blogs, currently rumored to be in talks with AOL, which wants to buy it. Mashable is the major site keeping up on all aspects of web 2.o and social networks. It is the starting place to find out what's going on at Facebook, Linked In, MySpace, Blogger and others. It's also the place to obtain numerous templates, widgets, and gadgets, and the many ways web 2.0 is business oriented and profitable. Mashable is definitely worth following.
6) DigitalPoint.com - Tools for the techie and the technically inclined. Forums and discussions.
7) Webmasterworld.com - Keeping up on the technical infrastructure, business marketing, adsense, forums, and web news and developer tools.
8) Allthingsd.com - Covers all things digital but is not the company allthingsdigital. News and blogs. Up to the minute coverage. Owned by the Wall Street Journal.
9) Internet.com - Covers the internet industry, ecommerce, small business. Is the industry newsroom for the Internet. Network for technology professionals. Owner of Webopedia.
10) InformationWeek.com - First place for industry announcements. A newsweekly publication and online presence. Emphasis on business value of technology.
11) ReadWriteWeb.com - A blog and critical first stop known for insightful articles. You will find important web 2.0 articles as well following the development in Google and Microsoft.
12) VentureBeat.com - Another blog focusing on business start-ups and development deals. Respected.
13) PaidContent.org - A major tracker of the media industry as it attempts new business model to survive in the online universe, otherwise known as cloud computing now. Major media outlets follow paidcontent.org. New York Times, Financial Times new business models to gain pay for content.
14) GigaOm.com - a major blog, named after its founder Om Malik. Leading technology news provider to New York Times, Business Week and Reuters.
15) SearchEngineLand.com - tracks developments of search engine industry, business and advertising.
16) WebProNews.com - development on the web, search engines, business and marketing.
17) ClickZ.com - The business of the internet, tracking strategies, marketing techniques, major revenue sources affording much competition between Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google as well as Amazon and Ebay. Development of applications and tools.
18) Techmeme.com - Keeps up with technology trends. often cited.
19) TechDirt.com - Often insider views on development of government and business policy. A blog of long standing.
20) EMarketer.com - Known for its indepth critiques and "objective" analysis. Worth looking at.

There you have it -- the Top 20 most inluential eBusiness websites. Those reading it are those involved in creating the new internet, cloud computing, the new gadget, the next big thing for investors and businesses. No single one of these websites is the only authority. One must examine many according to your needs. However these sites, though not having the 400 million Facebook audience, are in fact the ones creating opportunity for the Facebooks of the world. They are also the information providers counted upon by those making critical policy and investment decisions.

Your Favorite Top 20 Business Websites 2010 Part 1

2010-01-26T10:19:00.010-05:00

How do you find your Business information?

Marketers want to know; companies want to know; google and site trackers want to know. They all want to capture your attention.

EBizMba - The eBusiness Knowledgebase dedicates itself to the answers to this question. Through combining google page rank, alexa and compete and quantcast tracking statistics, it ranks websites. In fact they have just released figures for January 2010 for regular business websites and ebusiness websites. From these rankings you may get a profile for your own uses. Albeit these are popularity statistics and not necessary the "best" sites. These are the sites most visited on a regular basis. In the future we will profile many of these sites in more depth. The entire ebizmba most popular business websites article can viewed here.

Here then are your 20 most popular business websites in 2010 according to ebizmba:

1) Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance is content rich and aggregates all kinds of finance, investment, stock information in one place. Pick your interest and there will be information there. Also provides a host of daily rss feeds from business and investment news providers;

2) CNN Money
CNN Money is homebase for Fortune and Money Magazines and provides cross the board stock and investment information as well as covering daily business trends. Also features videos and podcasts.

3) Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal online is a pay subscription site though there is much free information available there.

4) Forbes
Forbes magazine online is like CNNMoney content rich. An important business, investment information source.

5) Business.com
An aggregator of all things business. Users often go to business.com as a starting point. Not mentioned in rankings is an equally important source of information -- business.gov

6) Bloomberg
Bloomberg.com is another exceptional business site, though graphically not as attractive as others. Content rich, thorough information. Well worth your visit.

7) Business Week
Until December Business Week was owned by McGraw-Hill, also owners of Standard and Poors. Bought in December by Bloomberg, which immediately attached its own name - Bloomberg Business Week. Business Week is rich in content, an important source of information and support for Small Businesses, company profiles, and indepth overall information. Includes videos, podcasts and editor blogs. What Bloomberg ownership means remains to be seen. Worth your visit.

8) FT.com
If you read the Wall Street Journal, you must also consult the Financial Times of London for its global perspective on investment and finance information. A critical business site. Much of it is however only available to paid subscribers.

9) BizJournals.com
Another content rich site tracking small and large business information and providing local trends as well from its multitude of sources.

10) MSN money
Like Yahoo Finace, MSN money pools information on personal finace and investment, more oriented to smaller investors rather than institutional investors. Worth your visit especially regarding personal finance issues.

11) MotleyFool
Clear eyed investment advice. A first stop for many despite its #11 ranking.

12) CNBC.com
Another major investment site. Up to the minute stock reports. Like msnmoney, yahoo finance and bloomberg and forbes.

13) BankRate.com
A major source for bank and credit card information.

14) TheStreet.com
Another investment site with much indepth information on the markets.

15) MarketWatch.com
MarketWatch is investment and personal finance for free. It's owned by Dow Jones, which also owns the Wall Street Journal and produces the Dow Jones Industrial Index otherwise known as the Dow. One of the better sites, thorough and content rich and free.

16) AllBusiness.com
In depth site soup to nuts on starting a business, buying a franchise and much more.

17) Hoover's.com
Used to be the source for company profiles. Still important though there is much competition now for its information. Basic information free; detailed information must pay subscription.

18) SeekingAlpha
Another investment oriented site seeking to find the scoop on the next big stock, ipo and so forth.

19) Entrepreneur
Our choice for #1 small business one stop shop, whether starting or maintaining or expanding a business. Excellent focus on women entrepreneurs, support forums, tax information. Truly a one stop shop for the gift of information that keeps on giving. Also a long standing business magazine.
Inc Magazine, not ranked, is a near #2 for small businesses. Check them both out.

20) GoogleFinance.com
Not as developed as YahooFinance and MSNmoney, but worth a visit and very competitive, up to the minute that you would expect from google.

There you have it -- "Your Favorite Top 20 Business Websites". What your real favorite will be will be based on your own needs and preferences. But if popularity and millions of links and hits are indicators, these sites may be worth your time and efforts and staying on top of things in critical in the business world.

Many of these sites are print magazines or newspapers as well and can be found at your public library such as Pittsfield's own Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield Massachusetts Public Library. There we subscribe for you to Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Business Week, Forbes, Money, Fortune, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Entrepreneur and Inc Magazines. As you can see they all have their own content rich online websites. Other business information and journals are available free at the Athenaeum on our online databases they can be viewed simply by the use of your library card. The library is also a one stop shop for your information needs!

2009 Year In Review -- What Recession? or What A Recession!!!

2010-01-25T18:50:00.016-05:00

Been thinking about 2009 and what happened and what it means for 2010 now that we're in 2010.

Remember the Greatest Recession since the Great Depression comments? Remember the $700 Billion Dollar T.A.R.P bailout for companies and banks "too big to fail". TARP incidentallly means Troubled Asset Relief Program, begun by former Treasury Chair Henry Paulsen ( also former CEO of Goldman Sachs, a chief beneficiary of TARP ) during the waning months of President Bush's administration and supported by President-Elect Barack Obama. By Dec 31 2008 247 billion dollars had been sent to relieve failing Investment Banks and AIG. And at the very least Goldman Sachs was saved and is prospering quite well. It has even returned the $40 Billion dollar outlay. Quite a turnaround! So for Goldman and many other large banks, the Recession appears over. They're back to investing but not necessarily issuing credit.

On the smaller bank front for 2009 140 banks went into Bankruptcy and were saved by the FDIC -- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporations, whose own funds are nearly bankrupt. In 2010 bank failures have continued a pace -- 9 have failed since the beginning of 2010, taken over by FDIC. In 2009 over 1 million foreclosures occured jeopardizing individual families needs for shelter. Furthermore the national unemployment rate reached and has maintained the 10 % level, roughly 16 million individuals and their families. For those families the term Recession if not Depression is very real. Even Wal-Mart is closing many Sam's Club stores and laying off 11,000 workers. Jobs held by Wal-Mart former employees will be outsourced.

On the Investment and Finance front, the Dow has risen from a low of 7100 a year ago to over 10,000 on a continual basis (10,196 today) though there are still daily ups and downs but no dramatic downward shifts. Institutional investors are back playing the Market, confident that the US government and the Federal Reserve will prevent any dramatic decay. So the Investing community is moving forward even though wary of Financial Reform legislation. But there has been no real Financial Reform legislation no new FDIC or regulatory reform. Perhaps that is due to the hands off approach of former deregulators Larry Summers, Tim Geitner and Robert Rubin. Only recently has 82 year old former Treasury head Paul Volker been heard from in marked contrast to the hands off the "too big to fail" proponents.

Financial Reform like HealthCare Reform are both up in the air. Whereas TARP was okayed for 700 billion for 1 year HealthCare was for that same abount over 10 years and is stalled. Small Business have vested interests in seeing Health Care Reform though since it 's a large share of their own budgets, which operate on very small profit margins, unlike the "too big to fail" companies. The Outlook for any major Financial or HealthCare Reform in 2010 is very clouded, if not dim.

And remember that other indicator of onset of Recession that caught economists by surprise. Here I'm talking about Oil and Gas Prices. It was just July of 2008 when gas prices were a steady $4.11, a price that was a shock to individuals then and now. By the end of 2008 gas prices were back down to $1.87 nationally. By that time the US automotive market fell apart. General Motors and Chrysler filed for Bankruptcy protection, Fiat took over Chrysler and US taxpayers put a major financial stake in General Motors; Barack Obama initiated the Cash for Clunkers program to get Americans back into dealer showrooms. The automotive industry is still floundering. Only Ford did not take advantage of TARP. However, when banks do not issue credit, buyers don't buy; so government money went into GM's major financial lender, GMAC.

Now if you have been following gas prices over the last year, they have been inching back up, from aforementioned $1.86 to national prices this week of $2.78 up from $2.60 during the Christmas holiday season. In Pittsfield in December is was $2.63; a year ago it was $1.80. Economists were not even including gas prices in cost of living indexes so they missed the Depressive effects of these high gas prices. Wages simply do not go up to cover these changes. Nor do State budgets have the flexibility to meet these changes. With employment down, investment down, tax collections were down as well and States have initiated 3 to 4 rounds of dollar cutbacks, that in turn has affected municipalities, such as Pittsfield. For libraries, the entire Regional Library System is being cut in favor of one centralized system. Libraries are losing expected levels of state funding and local governments are unable to support library costs. This has resulted in cutbacks in service,days open and in some cases closing of libraries. In western Massachusetts there is no longer Bookmobile service to dozens of rural communities.

So here we are in 2010. Has anything changed? Or does the Recession continue full force. There has been no financial reform and no healthcare reform, no relief for small businesses or workers. There have been none of the great reforms that occurred during the Great Depression other than the hope given by those Great Depression agencies the FDIC and for the banks, the Federal Reserve.

So the question remains What Recession? and the answer remains What A Recession flowing full force to every sector and unit of United States citizenry with the possible exception of big banks and the wary Investment community!!

Best Business Books of 2009

2009-12-29T09:55:00.020-05:00

2009 has been a year of extreme turbulence in business and the world at large! How have authors addressed this turbulence and its effects on business, individuals and families? In this post I have selected 3 books that might be worthy of your attention, 2 that are making many "best" lists and a surprise selection on maintaining sanity in the workaday world.

The Financial Times and Goldman Sachs (yes, of the bailed out Investment banks) every year make an award for Best Business Book. They announced their 2009 award of 30,000 pound sterling ($48,000 U.S) to Liaquat Ahamed for his Lords of Finance -- The Bankers Who Broke The World. Included here is a video from the Finacial Times of the award to Ahamed.

The New York Times, Time Magazine have acknowledged Lords of Finance as one of the Year's best. Ahamed's book represents an indepth look at the forces behind the Great Depression that swept the world in the 1930s and bankers and others responsible for market collapse. He looks at the role of central bankers, the Federal Reserve, and speculators in gold, the gold standard, the role of bankers in United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the United States, from bubble boom to economic and social collapse. Ahamed's is one view of the Great Depression 70 years after the fact. John Galbraith's The Great Crash, 1929 is closer in time and Galbraith became a significant actor in United States economics in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Ahamed and Galbraith's book are worth a look.

Barry Ritholtz' Bailout Nation -- How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy, names names, shows suitable outrage over outrageous extremes, and writes a well researched up-to-the minute book. He puts the current situation into an historical context giving a prior history of bailouts, the founding of the Federal Reserve, and generally makes a case for the emptiness of free markets ideology, noting that large corporate structures are not permitted to fail when perhaps they should fail. This has enboldened unhealthly risk taking and the "too big to fail" syndrome. Ritholz' provides a lively, intelligent account in his book where many books are deadly dull and unresponsive to diverse ideas outside scope of their thesis. Ritholtz gives you the information, lets you know what he thinks, but you can beg to differ. He is responsible for providing a real perspective on the guts of the economic crisis. You know where he stands. Rithotz also writes a very successful daily blog, The Big Picture, where follows up on themes in the book and his current thoughts on economic trends.

Both Ritholtz and Ahamed are finance professionals. Ahamed is a consultant to hedge funds, amongt other things and a former investment manager. Ritholtz heads his own firm as CEO and Director of Equity Research at Fusion IQ. Each of their books will provide "food for thought" and will do so 10 years from now. Interviews with Ahamed and Ritholtz may be found on YouTube.

The 3rd book I have selected might well be called Surviving the ongoing economic decline. And it is that, but what it's really about is presenting a clear eyed view of getting and maintaining a job and weathering all kinds of offenses along the way. It's a refreshing account about getting along in the working world. Title of the book is The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl -- Real Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use. It's by Karen Burns, who by her count had 59 jobs over 40 years in 22 cities and 4 countries. Only problem with the book is its title, The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl, which is a euphemism for a prostitute. That's not Burns' intent here though she is aware of the implications of the term. Burns has learned from her experiences and wants to share what she has found out. Turn to any page and you will find revelation, revealed in concise often funny descriptions. And she hits the mark every time in every chapter. Burns claims she was only fired once of all the 59 jobs. Today she has a very active blog, and has career counseling columns at US News & World Report. She even has her gift shop and tips on marketing yourself. Burns also has an active Twitter account and a presence of Facebook.

While Karen Burns' book is The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl, any gender will benefit from it. She covers the territory, job search, interview, pay checks that bounce, what to wear, developing confidence, negotiating for raises, job changing to job hopping. There are hundreds of jobs books published every year, giving the same advice over and over. They are replaceable parts. Burns book is a keeper and so too is her blog. Check it out.

In fact you can check all these books out at the Berkshire Athenaeum or at your library.

Webopedia -- Guide to Social Media, the Internet and All About Computers

2009-11-29T21:48:00.012-05:00

You've heard about Wikipedia, the Online Free Encyclopedia and Investopedia, the Online Dictionary of Business and Financial terms. Today I want to introduce you to Webopedia, the Online Guide to Social Media, All Things Internet, and Dictionary and Encyclopedia of All Things About Computers and Computing Technology.

Here's how Webopedia defines itself: "Webopedia is a free online dictionary for words, phrases and abbreviations that are related to computer and Internet technology. Webopedia provides easy-to-understand definitions in plain language, avoiding the use of heavy jargon when possible so that the site is accessible to users with a wide range of computer knowledge ."

Webopedia was founded April 4, 1998. Its parent company is WebMediaBrandsInc with offices in Darien, Connecticut and New York city. WebMediaBrands describes itself as "The leading global provider of events, education, jobs, and content for business, media, and creative professionals." It is a publicly traded company on NASDAQ ( WEBM ). Besides Webopedia, WebMedia provides the news service internet.com, an extensive guide to ECommerce and Small Business Computing.

When you go to the Webopedia, you can search any computer term. For example, what is phishing? (click on term for definition). Or What is an "operating system? URL or "social networking"? Webopedia gives you a basic definition and then provides more detail and related links. This allows the opportunity to get as much information as you want on a topic, to become conversant. It cuts through the jargon, abbreviations, to clearly represent the term and its significance.

Besides term definitions Webopedia provides a Quick Reference area where you may explore a Twitter Dictionary, Instant and Text Messenging and Chat abbreviations, acronyms; social networking tools, search engines and directories, google search tips, step-by-step methods to set up your own Personal or Business Facebook account, How EMail works, Selling on EBay, Small Business Computing essentials, even How to Clean Your Computer. There is a great deal of depth and knowledge, clearly presented on a wide variety of topics in the Quick Reference area. There is even a History of Blogging!

This useful site also includes an extensive "Did You Know...?" area. There you can learn how Affiliate Marketing works, how to protect against Identity Theft, Twitter tools, Windows 7, Firefox, Google Chrome, How to Format a Hard Drive, the difference between a virus, trojan horse and worm, all about Software, Open Source, Setting up a Facebook page for your business, VOIP and the Small Business, Internet Telephony, Internet Grammar, All about Cookies, Are deleted files really deleted?, Static Electricity and Computers, and Tech terms that are strange but true. Like any dictionary you may find the answer to your query but also to others you wondered about.

There is much practical, useful information to be found in Webopedia and there are hundreds of links to more information and detail. For quick reference and gratification Webopedia is hard to beat. It is up-to-date with current trends and news. It is a one stop shop for understanding internet, social networking, technical terminology. It's free and there are many tips for marketing your business, setting up links, creating blogs, and optimizing your business sense with the all the possibilities of the internet and web 2.0.

We have just scratched the surface of what is within Webopedia. I urge you to explore this site and to bookmark it for future uses. Your time will be well spent.

Scary Thoughts on Halloween 2009 -- Libraries Without Books

2009-10-31T20:56:00.008-04:00

Here we are; it's already October 31! Halloween 2009! How about some scary thoughts to ponder.

In early September Cushing Academy a private preparatory school located in Ashburnham, Massachusetts distinquished itself with a controversial article which appeared in the Boston Globe. The article was not about its $43,000 per year tuition and board for students in grade 9 through 12. No the article was on Cushing's Library and headmaster, James Tracy's vision of an all Digital Library. The title of the article, "A library without books".

Tracy's view of the 21st Century Library is all digital. His library has a small collection of 20,000 books (hardbound). Those books, collected over time, representing many disciplines, have been discarded. Here's Tracy's rationale, “When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books. This isn’t ‘Fahrenheit 451’ [the 1953 Ray Bradbury novel in which books are banned]. We’re not discouraging students from reading. We see this as a natural way to shape emerging trends and optimize technology.’’Instead of a library, the academy is spending nearly $500,000 to create a “learning center,’’ The Globe report continues, "In place of the stacks, they are spending $42,000 on three large flat-screen TVs that will project data from the Internet and $20,000 on special laptop-friendly study carrels. Where the reference desk was, they are building a $50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine. They have spent $10,000 to buy 18 electronic readers made by Amazon.com and Sony. Administrators plan to distribute the readers, which they’re stocking with digital material, to students looking to spend more time with literature. Those who don’t have access to the electronic readers will be expected to do their research and peruse many assigned texts on their computers. Tracy summarizes, “Instead of a traditional library with 20,000 books, we’re building a virtual library where students will have access to millions of books.’’

Whatever you may think, Tracy's vision represents one end of a continuum on the Future of Libraries. Tracy sees an all digital future with access to millions of books (and thoughts) in digital form. Beyond whatever reaction you may have there is the question of stability of digital formats. Will a digital format be able to be read 20 years from now; 100 years from now; 500 years from now? A book with all its flaws is archival. Something printed 500 years ago and preserved in bound paper can still be read. Digital formats decay and progress. Backward compatibility is critical.

The Internet, which is 40 years old this month has taken us on a continuing journey along the digital online, virtual path, to the extent that virtual communities such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, MySpace, Google, are all parts of our daily discourse. Do libraries need buildings? Can Public libraries be disconnected from their physical boundaries(and tax bases). Google wants Google Books to provide millions of books currently housed in libraries to all wherever they live. James Tracy's view may be voicing and recognizing trends and their eventual outcomes. Today one may attain degrees from Library Schools without ever setting foot in a physical classroom. Online classes are becoming available in multiple disciplines.

The dreamers of the Internet saw it as breaking boundaries and providing access to all regardless of class background. As a business model entities like EBay, Amazon, Facebook, LinkedIn are making money. Entire virtual economies are envisioned through video game simulations like SIMs virtual families and virtual cash becoming real cash in virtual existences such as "Second Life".

Utopian? Maybe, but newspapers and magazines are deep in the thrall of the digital movement and their "old" world has become topsy turvy and unpredictable. Where we are going remains to be seen. James Tracy's vision is just one of multiple visions and possible outcomes. This will inevitably influence the Future of Libraries. Every library, public and private, university and school is being influenced by the continuing technological revolution. Budgets, allocations between books and technology each competing for scarce dollars are all enjoined in this question of The Future of Libraries, with and without books.

Scary? A critical juncture? Simply a transition? Whatever it is libraries will be there to help us understand what is happening.... or will they?

Happy Halloween!

Web 2.0 Workshops Announced @ Berkshire Athenaeum

2009-09-28T22:00:00.011-04:00

If you live in the Pittsfield, Massachusetts area, you may want to sign up for one of the Web 2.0 Workshops to be held October/November at the Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield's Public Library. All workshops are 1 hour long, free, and being held at a variety of times, days, evenings and Saturdays.

There will be workshops on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs and Blogging (Create Your Own Blog), Google (search strategies), These will be hands-on workshops geared to getting you started on your web journey.

While each of these workshops has a business connection, Business Websites You Should Know About will provide you with strategic websites and support networks useful in starting and maintaining your business. Your marketing efforts can be enhanced by using LinkedIn (the business social networking site), development of your Blog, and by Twitter and Facebook. Social media increasingly is the means of getting the word out about your business and all these sites are Free. For nonprofit business the workshop, the Berkshire Funding Resource Center with it Foundation Center databases will be critical in finding seed money and critical contacts in Foundation networks.

Other workshops will focus on DoItYourself databases, where you can learn about all things automotive and home repair. Workshops on Microsoft applications Word 2007 and Excel will also be held. Finally, there will be an Email workshop, getting you started and answering your email questions.

As you can see October and November will be a busy time. Sign-ups for workshops have already begun, but it's not too late for you. The full schedule with dates and times can be found here. (Just click on the word here.) All workshops are hosted by the Berkshire Athenaeum Reference Department. Register for workshops NOW by calling 413-499-9480 ext. 202 or by visiting the Department.

Labor Day 2009 - Record UnLabor Day

2009-09-07T23:01:00.007-04:00

Happy Labor Day! Or is it Happy at all?

It's time to reassess the economy. Labor Day is a special day set aside to celebrate those who do not own the means of production, namely the laboring classes or more specifically anyone who needs to work for money to meet their short and long term needs. Those who labor are not in a position to let money work for them. Those who work for money are subject directly to the upturns and downturns in the economy. Here small businesses are in a similar position simply because they do not own enough money or assets that they can be free of the great economic shifts that have been going on in the last year.

According to the United States Department of Labor in its most recent report, over 15 million people are members of the rank and file of the Unemployed or nearly 10% of the "civilian" work force of 150 million plus as of August 31, 2009. For these 15 million Labor Day is not cause for celebration but another day in an extended forced time without work, an extended forced vacation.

To put these numbers in perspective 15 million represents the number of individuals that are unemployed and seeking full time work. The US workforce is about 154 million. Subtract 15 million who are unemployed and you get the employed workforce of 139 million. Now multiply 15 million by a factor of 3 or 4(dependents, spouses, others) and you get the real effect of these numbers. Anywhere from 45 to 60 million people are directly impacted by the 15 million unemployed. 45 to 60 million people are facing real hardship, not being able to think beyond the next week having to face foreclosure, bankruptcy, unable to meet rental and mortgage payments, forced to choose between paying bills and food, delays in going to college or increasingly reliant on college loans or to put it another way the credit markets, which only recently have started to loosen up. Another part of this working for money is the enormous difficulty individuals and small businesses have in getting out of debt.

So Labor Day represents a cautionary Holiday this year. The Labor Movement in the form of Labor Unions brought us this special day, as well as the 40 hour week and the weekend, itself. Today, organized labor represents only 12.5% of the civilian workforce. Those working in the civilian workforce are 98% employed in the private economy. Only 2% of the workforce is in the public sphere - government employees, public school teachers, police and firefighters. Organized labor represents 36.5% of the public economy and only 7.8% of the private economy. The recent bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler led to further weakening of labor contracts for these companies and to the breaking of longstanding agreements. It also led to breaking of business agreements with creditors. To work in a trade union in these companies is to do with less and this is true of the newspaper business, too.

Above we mentioned those who are unemployed are defined as looking for full time work. A trend in the last 15 years has been toward reliance of employers on part time workers and outsourcing jobs to contractors of jobs, whereby people work for short periods of time. Long term full time employment is not readily available.

Looking for more information on the economic and social impact of these trends, see The Future of Work in Massachusetts, edited by Tom Juravich and Pulitzer Prize winning author, David Shipley's The Working Poor: Invisible in America, (not so invisible anymore) both found at the Berkshire Athenaeum and other Public Libraries in Western Massachusetts.

So Labor Day 2009 is really UnLaboring day. It is the end of Summer. It's Back to School. It's time to buckle down and get back to work!

That's true, except for the 15 million out of work and the 45 to 60 million impacted!! For them it's a time of worry and concern!

Top 20 Most Popular Websites

2009-09-01T10:47:00.006-04:00

Alexa -- The Web Information Company tracks globally web surfer activity and comes up with daily statistics on most popular websites. As you can imagine this means dollars and cents in the global marketplace. And this puts into perspective the competition between Google, Yahoo. and Microsoft for dominance. Also it allows us to see where social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Craigslist are going.

Alexa is an Amazon.com owned company and, yes, it tracks companies like Amazon, Ebay and their reach across the globe. Besides what sites are being surfed, Alexa also breaks down average number minutes on each site, and who is using the site by age group, education, gender, income and location. These demographic breakdowns are essential in the competitive marketplace.

So what are the top 20 sites for United States websurfers? They are Google, followed by Yahoo, Facebook, YouTube(a Google company), MySpace, Windows Live, Wikipedia, Craigslist, Ebay, Microsoft Network, Blogger (a Google company), AOL, Amazon, Twitter, GO, Bing (Microsoft's new search engine), CNN, Flickr (a Yahoo company), WordPress (like Blogger, a free Blog service), and ESPN Sportzone. LinkedIn appears as number 24, Weather.com 25, and New York Times 28.

Google gets 34% of marketshre globally, Yahoo 26 %, Facebook 25%, and YouTube 24% and MySpace 4.5% and Twitter gets nearly 4%. Individuals spend more time on Facebook, an average of 27.5 minutes compared to Google's 7 minutes and YouTube's 22.5 minutes. Twitter users spend average of 8 minutes a day twittering. Bing, the new Microsoft search engine, is already in the top 20 at number 16 but amount of time spent is only 2.1 minutes. Nevertheless Bing can be seen as up and coming and Microsoft and Yahoo will be using Bing as their search engines, thus providing real competition for Google.

Now statistics such as these are not great for reading, but they do provide the nuts and bolts backdrop to news about Google, Yahoo and Microsoft and web trends. Notably, social media sites are heavily represented in these statistics. People are spending much of their time on these social sites, making friends, sharing photos and information, and exchanging and sharing files. News sites are not represented among the top twenty but they are represented in the top 50 and include the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. Amazon and Ebay make strong showings in the top 20 at 13 and 9 respectively. Internationally Google China is number 4 in China and Google Japan is dominant there. So these companies have taken an international position and are heavily represented there. Baidu, a Chinese search engine is number 1 there and because of this carries 6% world share of surfers.

Are these fleeting trends? Hard to believe but the World Wide Web is only 15 years old. Skeptics then said that money could not be made on the Internet. Today the World Wide Web is a vast economic engine. Amazon is turning profits. Microsoft and Yahoo and have been around for more than 10 years; Google celebrated its 10 anniversary this year. Colleges, Universities, the United States Postal Service and all government agencies are on the web. Any business will need, if it does not already have one, a presence on the web. In a short 15 years the World Wide Web has become a part of our daily discourse and activity. Today there is still skepticism about profitabilty but no question that the world wide web is here to stay. Ignoring its possibilities would be ignoring vast opportunity.

Alexa is a useful marketing and analytical tool in gauging the reach and progress of these critical websites and their positions in the global marketplace.

Are You LinkedIn?

2009-08-11T21:55:00.019-04:00

A few weeks ago a patron who had just been layed off from his job came to the Reference Desk at the Berkshire Athenaeum and was seeking resources on resumes and job searching. He'd worked in the same job for the past 10 years and job searching was new to him. It was like starting over. He was professional and used to lots of responsibility.

After showing him some of our resources I asked if he had considered LinkedIn as a possible avenue for his job search. I explained that LinkedIn was an online social network for business where future employers and employees could connect. He had heard of LinkedIn but knew nothing about it or how it worked? I suggested he go to LinkedIn, explore the site and join, that it was free, that he could set up a profile, include pertinent parts of his resume and what he was looking for in a job, Since he had developed web sites, he was web savvy. He thanked me for the information and said he would check it out.

Soon after we spoke I received an email from him (I had given him my business card,) The email was an invitation to join LinkedIn, to be part of his network. That's how LinkedIn works. You join, set up a profile, develop a network by inviting friends, colleagues, associates. It's by invitation only. The first tier is your network. The second tier is the network of your invitees. The third tier is the further associated members and so on. This is how LinkedIn grows and how a most powerful network has developed that includes thousands of companies, all Fortune 500 companies, company profiles as well as individual profiles, and LinkedIn claims over 40 million registered members using their site. This is all free, but there is a premium paid membership level as well.

LinkedIn is the most powerful business social networking web 2.0 website. Now when I was invited to join LinkedIn, I had to join because I was not yet a member. I knew about it. I was aware of it and its possibilities and I was considering joining but had held back. From the viewpoint of being a Business Reference Librarian it made sense to join if only to be able to demonstate first hand information to those inquiring. So I accepted the invitation, joined LinkedIn and developed a brief profile.

Then, shortly after joining LinkedIn and my friend's network, something happened, something that surprised and delighted me. A colleague of 10 years ago, who I had regrettably lost contact with, sent an invitation for me to contact him and to be part of his LinkedIn network. We reestablished contact and our friendship and this happened through his searching for me on LinkedIn and Google amongst other sites. I had searched for him as well. I had lost his email due to a computer crash a couple years ago. Subsequently I have reestablished contact with some other associates and friends, and working colleagues.

So these are a few of the things you can do on LinkedIn -- develop a profile, give basic information and resume about yourself, develop a job search or recruitment strategy, seek people through the search function, join community forums, ask questions, seek funding of your start up. The possibilities are endless. And your contacts have contacts as well. Skills you are looking for may be represented in these networks. Ideas abound. Because everyone is there by invitation, there is also the possibility for personal recommendations, job and business ideas.

One of the more valuable aspects of LinkedIn, attactive to company recruiters and job seekers alike, is the ability to scope each other out. Looking for a job; talk with people at that company or employers may contact people in your network. Major businesses have seen the utility of this approach and human resource professionals are using LinkedIn to scope out candidates. This is much more intimate and useful than a passive resume. Further, many jobs do become available in this manner.

LinkedIn has had 100s of features in Business Week, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc Magazine, and the New York Times. Business Week and the New York Times has partnered with LinkedIn. So too has CNN, IBM and LexisNexis. If you are starting up a business, looking for contacts and contracts, looking for venture capital, you will want to consider joining LinkedIn! The video LinkedIn For Dummies, below by Adriana Lordan from SiteReference.Com, will get you started on LinkedIn. You will want to make LinkedIn part of your Business Plan and Job Strategy.

With me you'll ask "Are You LinkedIn?"

Wal-Mart Effect Revisited

2009-07-31T21:40:00.009-04:00

On July 2, 2008 we reviewed Charles Fishman's The Wal-Mart Effect for About Business. Fishman's book critically evaluated the impact of Wal-Mart on retailers and its suppliers. Wal-Mart's dominance led to many innovations in packaging and in production. Being such a large buyer of supplier's goods and services they were able to continue to reduce prices in products and pass those cheaper prices on to Wal-Mart customers.

In last year's post we also mentioned Wal-Mart's "green initiative" and commitment to sustainability. On July 16, 2009 Wal-Mart President and CEO Michael Duke committed the company to Sustainability for the long term, announcing its Sustainability Product Index and 15 question survey that is being submitted to its 100,000 product suppliers worldwide. Results of the survey will lead to a great transformation in the way Wal-Mart and by inference other retailers will be doing business. Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandiser John Fleming discusses this initiative in the video below. The survey asks what suppliers are doing to cut their carbon byproducts, what they are doing to create more efficient production. Wal-Mart expects answers from suppliers to this survey by October 1 and then will go to the next stage in planning.

It is expected that where unit pricing tags are part of the everyday shopping experience now, that environmental labeling will be added to these tags for each and every product Wal-Mart sells and each consumer buys. Duke calls this the need that every consumer has for transparency so they will know how the product was made, who made the product, its contents and so forth. This is a radical initiative and Wal-Mart invites other companies in join with them in this effort. Sustainability to Wal-Mart is now as important to them as low prices.

After Wal-Mart's announcement the New York Times published an extensive article by Stephanie Rosenbloom, At Wal-Mart Labels to Reflect Green Intent. Rosenbloom quotes Michael Duke, "We have to change how we make and sell products. We have to make consumption smarter and sustainable." Wal-Mart's ability to require suppliers submit to its standards will have a ripple effect throughout industry.

The Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman is available at the Berkshire Athenaeum and other Public Libraries.

Do You Twitter?

2009-06-24T20:20:00.009-04:00

You've heard of Twitter. Aside from Facebook, it's the fastest growing social networking site on the web. Business Week and PC Magazine are following Twitter closely, Business Week focusing on business applications. News reporters, White House staff, political campaigns, college and high school students, job seekers and marketers are making connections through Twitter. Major businesses such as Dell are incorporating twitter into their business plans. Everywhere you turn, you hear the term Twitter. Facebook wants Twitter as does Google.

So what is Twitter and how does it affect you? Twitter posts, called tweets, are microblogs. Each entry is 140 characters or less. When you join Twitter, you are asked a seemingly innocuous question, "What are you doing?" and each tweet starts from that question. Your answers to the question become your blog posts and can be followed by your friends or anyone, just as in a regular blog. Tweets at first seem very personal, but they quickly can take on more elaborate objectives. Dell Computers claims to have made $3 million from Twitter.

The video below, Twitter In Plain English is extracted from the Twitter site. Notice that it's appeal is personal, connect to friends, family, co-workers. Nielsen, which tracks Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social networking sites, saw Twitter leap "... 1,448 percent from this time last year... according to Monday data from Nielsen. The micro-blogging site logged 18.2 million unique visitors in May 2009, up from 1.2 million in May 2008, and up 7 percent from April 2009" as reported by Chloe Albanesius in PC Magazine online June 22. Albanesius in the same article also notes the continuing dominance of Facebook with 144.3 million unique visitors in May!

Twitter obviously has broad appeal beyond the personal. 140 characters could be a short poem, a haiku, or it could be the lead sentence of a news article, a series of business marketing slogans or a call to organize around an issue, a vote, a sale. It is attractive to journalists who are taught to write the jist of a story in one sentence (who, what, when, and why?) and to generations raised on Headline News of television and radio. "Chrysler Corporation no longer in bankruptcy, ready to start producing cars again." is perfect as a tweet. or "Berkshire Athenaeum announces Summer Schedule of Workshops starting July 2. Sign Up Now!" or "Gas Prices Increase As Summer Vactions begin, $3 gas prices expected midSummer." or "I am reading Deborah Micek's Twitter Revolution. Found it at the Berkshire Athenaeum. Check it out!"

The possibilities of Twitter are endless. It's free and easy to join. I have a Twitter account. You can view my Twitter profile and twitter entries by going to http://twitter.com/aboutbizness.

See Business Week's article, Twitter: Building Businesses Tweet By Tweet and their handy guide to TwitterSpeak. See how it may fit into your own business plan and strategic thinking.

Want to learn more about Twitter? Sign up for our Technical Services librarian, Jeremy Goldstein's Thursday, July 16 workshop on Twitter. It starts at 6p.m. Sign up at the Reference Desk or by calling 413-499-9480 ext 202.

Marketplace Whiteboards On The Financial Crisis

2009-06-09T21:45:00.018-04:00

Marketplace is National Public Radio's Business program. It is broadcast Monday thru Friday at 6:30 p.m. on public radio stations nationally. In the Berkshires it may be heard on WFCR and WAMC, each on FM. As with newspapers and magazines Marketplace has a multimedia presence online, where its programs, special reports, podcasts and videos may be downloaded and heard as well as viewed. The program is uniformly informative and worth listening to if you're trying to understand what's going on behind the headlines in the business, financial and working worlds.

For the past year Marketplace online has had a continuing feature, "The Whiteboard", on getting behind the financial crisis and taking the mystery out of Credit Default Swaps, Collatoralized Debt Obligations, Write Downs, Mortgage Backed Securities, and other arcane terms and making them clear. "The Whiteboard" features Marketplace Senior Editor, Paddy Hirsch, in short, graphic, 5 to 10 minute presentations. In this posting I am including 1 of these Whiteboards, as an example, for you to view:

"Uncorking CDOs (Collatorized Debt Obligations)" from October 3, 2008 (Marketplace online) .

When viewing this 6 minute presentation, you may need to watch more than one time. These are after all complicated matters. But Paddy Hirsch does an excellent job. The presentations are never boring. If fact they only got better the more I repeated them. You may understand them quicker than me. But Paddy Hirsch has provided us with an excellent reference backdrop. If you have RealPlayer or Windows Media Player you should be able to view. If not viewable you may need to download a recent version of Quicktime.

After viewing this and other Whiteboards you'll have a better understanding of the financial system and how it works, relation to mortgages, credit card debt, student loans, General Motors bankruptcy and their impact, or, as Paddy Hirsch puts it, "the financial mess we're all in". For the full list of Paddy Hirsch's Marketplace Whiteboards click here. You won't regret time spent.

Another website that continues to illuminate with clear explanations, is Investopedia, which we have featured in the past and continue to consult for accurate, informed discussion. Marketplace and Investopedia are worthy of your Bookmarks.

The Berkshire Athenaeum has 2 dictionaries of finance and banking you may want to consult:
1) Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms by John Downes and Jordan Goodman; and 2) Dictionary of Banking and Finance by P.H. Collin.

Upside To The Economic Downturn

2009-05-31T21:22:00.014-04:00

With all the bad news about Banks in this last year, it seems that local Berkshire Banks are doing pretty well.

That's the news Berkshire Eagle Business reporter, Tony Dobrowolski, wrote about in the Saturday May 23 and Tuesday May 26 issues of the Berkshire Eagle. In his Saturday article, Berkshire Bank To Return $40 Million To Treasury, Dobrowolski reports:

Berkshire Bank has received approval to return $40 million that it received last fall as part of the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program. Following approval from the U.S. Treasury Department, the bank said it expects to return the money by the end of the month, drawing funds from its cash assets. It does not expect to sell additional stock to repay the government. Berkshire received the funds as part of the Capital Purchase Program, which was a core component of the Troubled Asset Relief Program — or TARP — that set aside $787 billion to help keep the country's credit flowing. The Capital Purchase Program was only available to banks that already had strong reserves."

Legacy Bank had earlier requested $20 million from TARP and then its Board turned it down. Apparently they didn't like the requirements that went along with accepting the money. Turnabout from Berkshire Bank appears to be for similar reasons. The reason for the loan originally was to release credit to other needy banks. The May 23 report indicates they can expand credit without the TARP. National controversy surrounding TARP appeared to have its impact on Berkshire Bank's decision as well.

Dobrolowski's Tuesday article, Local Banks Make The List, reports,

"Berkshire County's two largest banks are the only county companies included in the Boston Globe's recent rankings of the top 100 publicly traded corporations in Massachusetts. Berkshire Hills Bancorp of Pittsfield, the holding company for Berkshire Bank, is ranked 41st. Legacy Bancorp of Pittsfield, the holding company for Legacy Banks, is 84th. Berkshire Bancorp was 78th in The Globe's top 100 rankings last year. This is Legacy's first time on the list, said the bank's President and CEO J. Williar Dunlaevy."I'm proud for the bank," Dunlaevy said on Friday, adding that companies that make the list usually benefit from their size. "I have to give credit to the bank and the community. I think it's great that Berkshire County would have two banks among the top 100 firms in the state."

Last November we wrote a blog post about Berkshire Bank, Berkshire Bank Applies For Bailout Money. Conditions in November involving banks indicated that "bailout" meant unsound. Berkshire Bank and Legacy did not believe themselves unsound. In the case of Berkshire Bank they wanted to expand credit lending to area banks and businesses. Their recent statement indicates they can do this without either government help or stockholder help, that sufficient cash reserves exist. Their turnabout is also to restore whatever lack of confidence local consumers may have had in the bank with their initial acceptance of government funds.

This represents a glimmer of good news in an otherwise large ocean of bad news about banks. Thought you would like to hear a little good news for a change!!

Memorial Week 2009 - A Time For Reflection And Review

2009-05-30T13:32:00.007-04:00

Today is Memorial Day. Yes, yes, I know. The"official" holiday of Memorial Day is celebrated the last Monday of May; this year May 25. But May 30 is the original day set aside by the United States Congress in 1868 to remember the dead of both sides of the Civil War. It was then called "Decoration Day". It was since much later changed to Memorial Day -- a day of remembrance for of those no longer with us -- friends, family, and others. It is also a time for reflection and review. (For an informed overview, history of Memorial Day, see Wikipedia's entry here.)

So, this is really Memorial Week, the official start of Summer tourism in the Berkshires and throughout New England resort area. The annual migration to Pittsfield and surroundings has begun. Tourism is a major part of the economy of the Berkshires. How summer develops will reflect the economy. Will people still vacation here or stay at home? Labor Day signifies the end of Summer tourism, although for some, the true end of Summer tourism is October 12, Columbus Day.

Already gas prices have started to climb again. They really began creeping up Mother's Day. Now gas prices in the area are averaging near $2.50 per gallon rates. A year ago we were entering the $4 range with no end in sight. The prices broke in November, going down below $2 for the first time. They stayed down until May 2009. (See Motor Trend's Gas Price Locator for Pittsfield area prices and AAA's fuel gauge report on daily state and region prices.)

Reflecting on oil and gas increases to sustained $4 + prices, we see immediate and far reaching effects that have thrown the US economy into one continuing crisis after another, making it especially difficult for small businesses to stay afloat, but also major Fortune 500 companies. Witness the bankruptcy of Chrysler Corporation and the coming bankruptcy of General Motors Monday June 1st. Of course, it was more than gas prices that led to the collapse of the automotive industry in the United States, but for the consumer it was the key. Companies with large inventories on dealer's lots, inventory that did not move, together with crisis in credit financing, the bank bailouts and bailouts of the auto industry. Great losses have occurred. Even Toyota experienced billion dollar losses and Toyota has very diversified offerings, something that could not be said for either Chrysler or General Motors. Auto dealers not moving inventory are offering "going out of business" sales now. Long term relations between dealers and the auto industry are being severed through the bankruptcy restructuring process. The automobile industry will survive but not as the mega-giants they once were.

Another impact of the automotive industry collapse has been on parts suppliers and credit financing agencies such GMAC (General Motors Assistance Corporation). Part suppliers Delta and Visteon are in bankruptcy. (See Business Week article on this). For consumers availability of parts is always a problem Meanwhile the taxpayers are guaranteeing Chrysler's warranties.

Collapse of the automotive industry has been impacted by its inability to confront major trends in the manufacturing economy -- the larger context of the problem. Forbes Magazine has just published a major special report, Made in America, focusing on major manufacturing trends since 1979. These articles represent an informed analysis of what has happened and what needs to happen for the "second American century." The manufacturing sector has changed dramatically. Currently there are 12 million Americans in manufacturing where it was once 19.5 million in 1979. The 12 million that still have jobs have advanced in productiviy and efficiency. Much more is produced with 12 million than the 19.5 milion. The reason for increase in productivity in two words: the Techological Revolution. The effective mating of computer and machinery together with robots and increased sophistication. This has led to manufacturing productivity at the highest level ever $1.6 trillion, according to John Engler, President of the National Association of Manufacturers, in his Forbes article, "Forging a Second American Century", Economist Robert Reich, author of Supercapitalism, foresees in his article, "Manufacturing Jobs Are Never Coming Back" a different scenario. According to Reich unskilled jobs are not coming back and this is a worldwide phenomenon. Instead manufacturing is calling for highly skilled jobs with machines and robots doing the repititive and and even skilled work. Whatever you think this report represents a significant attempt at understanding our current predicament. It is education and continuous training that is needed.

While we're reflecting on these trends and the reemergence of increased gas prices, hopefully you'll take a moment or two to enjoy your summer vacation, wherever you take it. Even in the great recession we're going through, there are positive developments and opportunites to be had.

During this Memorial Week I hope you've taken time to Remember. Remember those no longer with you and those who are still living. And have a happy Summer! Enjoy the beautiful Berkshires!

Create a Blog With Blogger

2009-04-14T10:17:00.007-04:00

Some people have asked me, "How can I create my own free Blog?" Google Blogger provides a handy Video Tutorial on how to create your very own Blog. There are many types of blogs but this video is sure to help you get started. I have included Google's Blogger Video Tutorial below to assist you in this process. Play it as many times as you want to go over any point in question. Thanks Google!

April & May Business Workshops at the Berkshire Athenaeum

2009-03-29T20:28:00.005-04:00

The Berkshire Athenaeum Reference Department has announced its schedule of Workshops to be held in April and May of 2009. Among these workshops are several that are Business oriented and will be of interest to those involved in starting up and/or managing a small business and to those with a general interest in the impact of business on all of us.

A full list of all workshops to held can be viewed here on the Athenaeum web site. All workshops are 1 hour long and free to all. The schedule of workshops with a Business focus are listed here. These include:

Tuesday, April 7 @10a.m and Wednesday, May 13 @6p.m.
Berkshire Funding Resource Center - Of special interest to non-profit businesses, this will be an "Introduction to the Foundation Center website and its resources, using the Foundation Center databases to locate foundation grant funding resources and in utilizing Athenaeum resources that support grant research. (taught by Madeline Kelly)

Saturday, April 11 @10a.m. and Saturday, May 23 @10a.m.
Business Websites You Should Know About - "Keeping informed and up-to-date is always important in business. Workshop will focus on best business websites and how they may provide a one-stop-shop for all aspects of your business. (taught by pittsfieldbizlibrarian Dick Fairfield)

Wednesday, April 15 @10a.m., Wednesday, April 22 @10a.m., and Wednesday, April 29 @10a.m.
Blogs and Blogging Series - A 3 part series dedicated to creating your own weblog.
Part 1: April 15: Introduction to Blogs and Blogging. What blogs can and cannot do. Personal and Business Blogs. Developing your Blog Plan. Setting up a blog email account with gmail. (taught by Dick Fairfield)

Part 2: April 22: Create and Manage your own Blog. Using Google's Blogger, you will create your own free Blogger account. Creating your first Blog post. (taught by Dick Fairfield)

Part 3: April 29: Managing Your Blog. Discussion of Blog maintenance and growth. Resources available to support and grow your Blog. (taught by Dick Fairfield). Plan on attending each part of the Blog workshop.

Tuesday, April 28 @6p.m. and Tuesday, May 12 @6p.m.
Free Business Resources on the Web: This workshop will cover FREE online resources available to start-up, maintain, and grow your business. Focus will be on operational tools you'll be able to use right away. Develop online contacts and support. (taught by Dick Fairfield)

PreRegistration is Required for All Workshops. You may Register by calling the Reference Department at 413-499-9480 ext 202 or In Person at the Athenaeum Reference Desk, Berkshire Athenaeum, One Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield, Mass. We look forward to you attending our workshops. There are, however, limited spaces, so, Reserve your space now.

Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me pittsfieldbizlibrarian@gmail.com

Dow Up, Dow Down -- What does it all mean?

2009-02-24T09:30:00.007-05:00

It's no secret! We're in an economic crisis of great proportions. But it's really hard to get an uncluttered answer about what essentially needs to be done to bring about stability.

In politics we get an overwhelming Republican No on the President's stimulus plan. An almost equally overwhelming Yes from Democrats on the plan. Result: Well there are more Democrat votes than Republicans. So a stimulus plan exists. That works both in sports and politics.

Does that cure the situation? We'll have to wait and see. Meanwhile other initiatives to stimulate banks and release of credit do not appear to be working. General Motors and Chrysler have once again asked for more billions and AIG is back asking for more government assistance.

Meanwhile, yesterday, February23, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation) fell to lows not seen since 1987. Today they are going up once again. Are these indexes accurate measures of the state of the economy? The answer is not self evident. What the Dow and NASDAQ show is Investor Trends and investor confidence or lack of confidence in the marketplace. All are looking for answers and coming up with more questions. (There are no simple answers.)

Meanwhile companies listed in The Dow may give us some idea of the strength of the economic recession. The Dow is made up of a select group of companies numbering just 30, whose growth and decline are critical to the marketplace, according the editors of the Wall St Journal, who select these companies for inclusion in the Index. (For a discussion of how the Dow is composed and points calculated see Investopedia's article here)

What companies, listed in The Dow are in trouble? They are names in the news -- General Motors, currently trading at $1.77, Ford Motor Company at $1.73, General Electric at $8.85, Bank of America at $3.91, Citigroup at 2.14, Alcoa at $5.81. Faring not much better are Intel at $12.08, American Express at $12.20, Pfizer at $13.41, Walt Disney at $17.56, Microsoft at $17.91 and Home Depot at $19.97. Other companies such as Proctor and Gamble, IBM, Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Exxon and United Technologies are doing quite well. These companies form the Dow Jones benchmarks for the economy. As these companies trade lower and lower so too does the Index itself go lower. A little over a year ago The Dow was over 14,000 points; today it's at 7100. A company by company, minute by minute watch of the Dow Jones Index, may be viewed and monitored on Bloomberg. (Just click on the link.)

These are bargain basement prices for these companies. Obviously millions of investors have shed their stocks in these companies and have experienced great losses. For those who have never owned stocks due to high prices, now might be advantageous. In this kind of climate it takes a bit of courage to put your own money on the line. Do you think GE, Ford and GM will be around, that the banks are still critical? When stocks cost less than coffee, they do provide an option. With prices this low, it becomes a little easier to see why government involvement is necessary and practical, if not mandatory.

Two books from the recent past can now be seen as cautionary in the wake of the former bubbles that have now been burst thoroughly: Robert Shiller's Irrational Exuberance and Maggie Mahar's Bull! A History of Boom and Bust, 1982 to 2004; What 21st Century Investors Need to Know About Financial Cycles. Both of these books may be found at the Berkshire Athenaeum and other public libraries.

Small Business Outlook For 2009

2009-01-13T10:36:00.005-05:00

The National Small Business Association just released a major report on the outlook for Small Business in 2009. Its press release is printed below. The National Business Association is an advocate for the interests of small business owners and lobbies for their interests in state and national legislatures and agencies. It represents more than 150,000 small businesses nationally. Founded in 1937 it is the oldest national advocate for small businesses. In 1980, 1986, and 1995 it took the lead in initiating White House Conferences on Small Business. Their report reflects the impact of the Recession on their members. As we have previously mentioned in our posts this traditionally optimistic group is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain that optimism. Altogether the outlook for 2009 is bleak. The complete report may be accessed through the "major report" link above.

NSBA Year-End Economic Report

Jan 12, 2009

NSBA today released a report detailing how small business is faring in the recession, and things aren’t going well. According to the NSBA 2008 Year-End Economic Report, 91 percent of small businesses surveyed over the last two weeks in December said the national economy today is worse off than five years ago, up significantly from 68 percent in August 2008.

The report found significant decreases in anticipated economic growth for the coming year with a mere 3 percent anticipating growth for the U.S. economy—down from 21 percent in August. The number of small-business owners who cited economic uncertainty as one of their top three challenges was up from 53 percent in August to 75 percent—a 42 percent shift in just four months.

“Beyond the significant concerns small-business owners expressed about the overall U.S. economy, more than one-third are not confident about the future of their own business,” stated NSBA President Todd O. McCracken. “Coming from traditionally up-beat entrepreneurs, this number ought to send a strong message to Congress—as they craft an economic stimulus package—that small business is struggling.”

Small businesses are dealing with dramatic decreases in growth of revenues, profits and employee size. Each of these key indicators declined between August and December with the number of small businesses hiring new employees in the past 12 months dropping from 30 percent in August to just 18 percent in December, creating an overall net job loss. Projected job growth didn’t fare any better.

Financing continues to be a problem for small-business owners who reported increased reliance on credit cards—nearly half (49 percent) used credit cards in the past 12 months to finance their business. Making matters worse, respondents who reported worsening credit card terms increased from 63 percent in August to 69 percent in the December. Although regulations have recently been approved that will address some of the problems small businesses are facing, the new rules failed to include business-specific credit cards, making broad reform a critical issue.

“NSBA’s Year-End Economic Report exemplifies the difficult position in which we small businesses find ourselves today,” said NSBA Chair Keith Ashmus. “Given the historic role we have played in job creation, any impediment to our ability to create jobs could make for an extended recession and more difficult recovery.”

2009 Berkshire Athenaeum Workshops

2009-01-01T22:40:00.012-05:00

With the new year and the newly renovated Reference and Local History departments, computer and business workshops have been announced for January and February. You can view the entire schedule of workshops by going to the Berkshire Athenaeum's home page and clicking on Computer Class Schedule for January & February.

I am scheduled to lead many of these workshops. My schedule follows:
1) Email Workshops: January 8 and 22, February 5 and 25;
2) Finding Business Resources Online: January 15 and February 12; and
3) Free Websites Useful to Small Business: January 29 and February 26.

All workshops start at 10 a.m. and will end 1 hour later at 11 a.m. They will be held in the Athenaeum's new Computer Lab, which shares space with the Berkshire Author's Room, directly off of the Local History department. These are our first workshops in the new computer lab. Starting times are based on workshops held previously. The times are on a trial basis. If we find these times are inconvenient for whatever reason, we may change them in the future. Let us know whether these times are good or inconvenient for you. I personally may be reached at 413-499-9480 ext 110 or 202. Also PreRegistration is necessary. Just give the Reference Department a call at 499-9480 ext 202.

Let me give you a brief breakdown of the Workshops I will be leading.

Email - Email is one of the most popular activities on the Reference Department computers. This workshop will have a "hands-on" approach to creating a basic free Email account and will distinquish between different providers. We'll look at Yahoo and Gmail. The aim of the workshop is to get you started. This is an introductory workshop, for beginners. It will be a "no frills" introduction. Bring your questions and be prompt.

Finding Free Business Resources Online - There is a host of Business and Finacial sites online. How to distinquish between quality information and junk. We will look at several resource rich sites; sites that prove useful time and again in providing access to quality business and financial information. A list of these sites will be provided. It is expected that this workshop will focus on 2 or 3 sites, due to their depth and resources provided. Bring your questions, observations, and suggestions of other sites that you may want me to cover in the future. PreRegistration is necessary. Call the Reference Department at number listed above. Workshop will start promptly at 10 a.m.

Free Websites Useful to Small Business - This workshop could be considered part b to the other business workshop, though this is a stand alone workshop and the other is not a prerequisite. There are many free tools online to aid you in running your business, obtaining contacts, and providing such things as free Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Calendars, Business Reference, Tools for Mailing lists and so forth. We will look at several of these free business utilities; provide a list of sites for further reference, and look at your needs. PreRegistration is necessary. We start promptly at 10 a.m. and anticipate follow-up with regard to any questions you may have.

I look forward to your participation in these workshops and to your suggestions for others that we may have.

Thanks for your support of our Business Blog. Call me, Richard Fairfield, with any questions you may have.

The Berkshire Athenaeum and the Reference Department is located at 1 Wendell Avenue, in Downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Happy New Year 2009.

Happy New Year Or Is It?!!

2009-01-01T20:15:00.010-05:00

We start 2009 with a question, is it truly a Happy New Year or is it just a continuation of the disaster that was 2008? Another way of saying this is Where are we going in 2009? Will things continue to get worse?

Several things have caused us to frame this first post of the New Year this way.

1). The Business Press and Business itself has been relentlessly optimistic in the past. This is especially true of entrepreneurial supporting magazines such as Entrepreneur and Inc. The daily news does not always enter into these magazine's topics. That is no longer true. Both these magazines have bleak prognoses for 2009. Along with the rest of the Business Press, 2009 is to be the "year of recovery". The situation has gotten so bleak, that Mark Hendricks wrote an editorial for Entrepreneur's January 2009 issue calling it "Crappy New Year", and there was no "tongue in cheek". Hendrick's focuses on the credit crisis, its impact on small and large business enterprise. He cites the the July 2008 Senior Loan Office Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices. Their report noted "65% of senior bank loan officers reported that they recently tightened standards for small business seeking loans during the second quarter of 2008. That's an all time high since record keeping began in1990." (You can read the entire editorial by clicking on the highlighted "crappy new year" above or at the Berkshire Athenaeum, where we have many subscriptions to Business magazines or online at entrepreneur.com.) Hendricks also emphasizes that 69% of small business have cut back on operating and capital expenses. This is true also for States where the economic crisis has caused continuing severe economic cutbacks. In President-Elect Obamas infrastructure plan may end replacing money's States have lost in cutting back their budgets. Locally, the town of Pittsfield has experienced cutbacks and job freeze, KB Toys declared bankruptcy December 10, Linens and Things closed and Berkshire Bank applied for and received $40 million from the national bank bailout fund.

2) Speaking of President-Elect Obama, he has been saying with great frequency to anyone who will listen that things are going to get worse before they get better. Whatever National Recovery plan engendered by the new Obama administration may be operating on very fragile ground. The events of 2007 and 2008 will not be ended by chronological end of year 2008. They will remain in the foreground and impact any Obama plan.

3) This gets us to our third point. We all want a return to an optimistic future and will be impatient to see change, real change, one that benefits all, not just a few. So far there has been no plan, no central organizing vision that unites business, labor, the overall public. A plan and vision are a necessary part of National Recovery. The current situation has been non reflective crisis management, trying to "put a finger in the dike" when there are only flood conditions. A national commission, like the commission of civil disorders constituted during the 1960s by President Johnson. That commisslion examined the very soul of America and was controversial. A new rexamination is needed. This is not just credit fallout, housing crisis, or bank and automotive crisis. This is a system breakdown and crisis of historic proportions. Our very daily assumptions about the role of the economy, government, priivate and public sphere need to reexamined. Who are we as a people? What happened and how was it allowed to happen? A critical eye should look under every stone? What is government to be in the 21st century? How are sectors to be united in a comprehensive and comprehensible fashion? What ideas, if any, need to be discarded? What new ideas will be brought forward to determine the road ahead? Inevitably, we are talking about the remaking and reordering of our society and who will benefit. Have laws been broken? If so what redress will be needed. This national commission should be independent and of the highest integrity. It should generate new ideas and a no holds barred critical analysis of what has gone wrong and why and provide the foundation for future directions. Whether a commission of some other form, a comprehensive national plan requiring sacrifice and commitment from all is necessary. It is these kinds of plans in the past that restored hope international, whether it was the New Deal, the Marshal Plan or the New Frontier or the Great Society. It is vestiges from these plans that have kept the United States from total collapse, agencies such as the FDIC, Social Security, and Unemployment are still critical ideas that originated during the Great Depression. The Works Progress Administration may be the model for Obama's infrastructure plan but so too was Eisenhower's National Highway Transportation plan, which created the Interstate Highway system and led to unparalleled economic and social development of the United States during the post World War II and Korean War. There is pullback now from that development.

What will the National Recovery be? Will it be genuine promise or more of the same. And what role for small and large business, labor and government. At the very least, we are living in interesting times. The central issue: What outcome is expected and will we survive?!! What are the basic needs of society and how should they be met? If basic needs cannot be met, how will we survive as a people. The sign in the road ahead suggests "New Directions Needed". As in the end of a year, it will be out with old ideas and institutions that no longer work and in with the new which will bring forward old institutions and ideas that do work along with genuine new ideas and vision that provides the basis for building a new "society" that all can buy into.

Happy New Year!!

Market Share For Email and Search Providers ( Business Statistics)

2008-12-30T22:38:00.005-05:00

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 )

2008-12-30T19:10:00.011-05:00

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 Time s; 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

2008-11-30T21:41:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-30T21:09:00.010-05:00

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

2008-11-30T20:18:00.003-05:00

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 bailou t, 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

2008-10-28T10:16:00.006-04:00

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!!

2008-10-14T17:17:00.008-04:00

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

2008-09-23T09:45:00.009-04:00

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 )

2008-09-15T21:43:00.018-04:00

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 )

2008-09-15T19:46:00.008-04:00

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!

2008-09-07T22:51:00.018-04:00

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

2008-08-29T18:41:00.007-04:00

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

2008-08-14T21:30:00.017-04:00

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 )

2008-08-07T22:06:00.016-04:00

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 )

2008-07-31T21:33:00.013-04:00

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 Cui l (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)

2008-07-24T23:00:00.013-04:00

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 )

2008-07-17T22:07:00.022-04:00

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 )

2008-07-11T22:56:00.017-04:00

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 )

2008-07-02T09:19:00.011-04:00

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

2008-06-19T13:41:00.018-04:00

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

2008-06-19T09:45:00.008-04:00

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)

2008-06-12T09:40:00.016-04:00

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!!

2008-06-11T09:54:00.016-04:00

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

2008-06-05T12:00:00.027-04:00

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!