The Dow and Marketplace Happy Music!

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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!