About a month ago, I joined LinkedIn, the latest service to hit the web to offer a way of networking together people who know each other. Unlike those networks which offer a social-only structure – almost a kind of online speed dating system – LinkedIn is geared to business networking. Recently, I seem to be […]
Category: Business
New iPod Launched
Apple announced today a new version of the iPod, that oh-so-cool-looking digital music player. Apple certainly has a big corner of the digital music business, with iTunes as the biggest source of legal music downloads. BBC NEWS / Technology / Apple launches longer life iPod Trouble is, though, the music you get from iTunes and […]
Execs are confident, but…
The latest McKinsey Quarterly Global Survey of Business Executives July 2004 of some 5,500 senior corporate leaders around the world shows that executives from a wide range of industries and regions remain broadly positive about the global economy. These executives have curbed their optimism since early this year, but many plan to step up hiring […]
Martha Stewart: What should she do next?
Very nice piece by Stephen Evans, BBC North America business correspondent, published today on the BBC News website. Looks tongue-in-cheek, but it’s not… The US lifestyle guru who on Friday was sentenced to five months in jail and five months of house arrest over charges of conspiracy and obstruction faces some tough decisions. Could this […]
Boom time for digital jukeboxes
Sony is revamping its Walkman for the digital generation. Mobile music players are set to become the must-have gadget for music fans. A report predicts that people will buy more than 10 million players this year to listen to music while on the move. The buying frenzy is being driven by the success of Apple’s […]
Amazon and Good Business (Reading)
As a regular customer of Amazon.co.uk, I decided to add some Amazon advertising to this blog, which you can see if you scroll down the page. I’ve not gone overboard with loads of graphics and overtly plugging product for sale, just highlighted some business reading with a particular focus on topics surrounding corporate communication. Amazon has […]
The power of passionate consumers
In its August 2 issue, Business Week publishes its annual ranking of the world’s most valuable brands, in conjunction with Interbrand. The ranking includes the top ten brands worldwide (top 3: Coca Cola, Microsoft, IBM) with the collective brand value of the ten amounting to more than US$380 billion. It’s a well-written article with some […]
SAP and Oracle going to market together
Another story in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye this morning – a public spat between SAP and Oracle, two of the enterprise software industry giants, over a new ad campaign Oracle is running. It seems that SAP is mightily upset over the focus of Oracle’s campaign, which SAP says is a rip-off of […]
The Empire Blogs Back
The promise of blogs, wikis and social networks to upend business as usual was on display at a high-powered conference on Friday, when blogging software company Six Apart and evangelists from Microsoft co-chaired a panel detailing how these tools lead to better customer relationships. In something of a throwback to the halcyon days of the […]
Another corporate exec heading for jail. A never-ending story?
Yet another example of corporate wrongdoing, reported in the Daily Telegraph today — the former CFO of Boeing is to plead guilty to a criminal charge that could land him a fine of $250,000 and up to five years in jail. Full Story: Telegraph / Money / Ex-chief at Boeing to plead guilty (registration required) What is […]
Net calls to take on landlines
This could really shake up the traditional telecommunications business — net upstart Skype is launching a new service that lets you call any number in the world over the internet. The SkypeOut service will let Skype’s 7.7 million subscribers use their PC and internet connections to call landlines and mobile phones at low rates. Full […]
Blogging and business moving mainstream
Reuters reported today that “the growth in the number of blogs, and those who read them, continues to attract attention from business leaders … as a means of enhancing companies’ communication more directly with employees, partners and customers.” They couldn’t have said it better or more succintly! In their report, Reuters quote an IBM executive […]
Google IPO site online
Google began taking bids on Friday for the public auction process it will use to sell as much as $3.3 billion worth of shares for its planned public offering in mid-August. Google IPO site online / CNET News.com Google IPO prospectus
Tough times for PeopleSoft
Things are not looking good for PeopleSoft. Since acquiring fellow enterprise software vendor JD Edwards in 2003, PeopleSoft have been emboiled in a bitter defence against aquisitive Oracle. Last week, PeopleSoft reported a fall of 70% in revenues. According to a report by CNET, customer complaints are throwing doubt on PeopleSoft’s handling of its merger […]
Death by PowerPoint for CEO
When the day comes that a board of directors fires a CEO because of a PowerPoint, it will send a very clear signal about what is at stake these days when anyone gives a presentation. According to a report in the Financial Times, via Cliff Atkinson’s beyond bullets blog, that day already arrived for one […]
Skype is a winner
I’ve been trying out Skype, the internet-based phone system I commented on last week (read post). It is very good! The best thing is that if you call another Skype user, that call is 100% free, wherever in the world the other party is located. If you call someone on a normal landline or mobile […]
P2P file sharing: hacks and respectability
Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing has often been associated in many people’s minds with illegal copying and sharing of music. Think Napster and Kazaa: not the shiny respectable Napster and Kazaa we know today, but the original services that were shut down after legal actions by the recording industry and others. P2P is in the spotlight […]
The H-P way: Fire top managers
Carly Fiorina, the chief executive of computer maker Hewlett-Packard, pledged to fire top managers yesterday after announcing poor results that sent the shares tumbling. — report in the Daily Telegraph today. Telegraph | Money | HP heads ‘to roll’ after poor results I wonder how such public news of the CEO’s intentions just two days […]
Liechtenstein re-branded
The tiny European country of Liechtenstein is just about to relaunch itself on the world having had a makeover session from the brand consultants. — report today from Reuters. View video report (2m 13 secs): Reuters.com | Liechtenstein Rebranded (If the link above doesn’t work, go to tv.reuters.com and navigate from there.)
Olympic organization feats
Watching the spectacular 2004 Olympic Games opening ceremony on TV last night got me thinking about the organization behind it all. The sheer feat of putting together the 2½ hour event deserves admiration and congratulations to everyone involved for its success. 72,000 people in the new olympic stadium, representatives of the teams from 202 countries […]