In doing some reading of the Sunday newspapers on the internet, it made me think back to the article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal by Bill Wyman, “What Newspapers Can Learn from Craigslist.”
Now I’m a big fan of Craigslist, and lots of entrepreneurs I know are also fans. My daughter started a neat little business thanks to Craigslist while another entrepreneur a couple of weeks ago summed it up with the words, “Craigslist is where it’s at.”
Take a read of what the author is saying about newspaper websites and nod along saying ‘yes sir’ as you do...because Wyman is right on target. Here is a segment that I particularly liked:
The stories are as a rule stuffed into a cramped space in the bottom middle of the page, hemmed in by myriad other links, devices and widgets arrayed in columns to either side. Headlines, forced to fit in those tiny spaces, are often as awkward and telegrammatic as print ones.
Even after the reader clicks on a story, the site then offers up more of the same: A frame inside the browser window, unwanted navigation elements, links to any and every possible department of the site, placed above, to the left and to the right of the actual prose. As for that prose, it could be a 400-word reported piece, a lacerating editorial, or a recipe for pumpkin pie. It doesn't matter—it will always be trapped in that small well, suffocated by the weight of the widgets, links and navigation around it.
I'm not talking about ads. It is a cranky consumer who can't grok the reason for an ad next to a story. I think many readers, like me, would gladly swap their prized Adblock Firefox add-on for one that would keep the ads and instead eliminate all the non-content elements of the average newspaper Web page.
Ultimately, I would like about 99% fewer navigation links on the page, but will settle for 90% fewer. For that service, a newspaper site can hit me with all the ads it wants, or charge me any amount of money. But until it provides this simple and I think obvious service to readers, one can't help suspecting that a newspaper's approach to the Web is incomplete.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Meet SOTUS
No matter your political persuasion, you’ll find the following short column from today’s Wall Street Journal fun to read. It describes SOTUS…the straw man of the United States…and the article is entitled, “I’m the President’s Trusted Counselor.”
By NOAM NEUSNER
Some people get quoted in presidential speeches by writing heartfelt letters to the president about personal loss, or by doing something heroic, like landing a plane in the icy Hudson River.
I just sit in the Oval Office, and mouth off to President Barack Obama, one inanity after the next. And sure enough, my words—word for word, mind you!—show up in his biggest speeches.
Who am I? Sotus—Straw man of the United States. I'm Mr. Obama's most trusted rhetorical friend.
In his speeches, Mr. Obama says there are "those" who suggest we "can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures." He suggests there are "some" who are content to let America's economy become, at best, "number two." He says that on health care, "some people" think we should do nothing.
Listen, there is no "some people." He's just quoting me, Sotus.
Why, just a few weeks ago, I said: "Hey, Mr. President, you know, why don't we just fight tired old battles, run up the deficit, and, you know, just chuck common sense to the wind?" Imagine my thrill when I heard Mr. Obama during the recent State of the Union: "Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it's time to try something new. Let's invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let's meet our responsibility to the citizens who sent us here. Let's try common sense." Ouch, Mr. President, you got me there!
And then there was the nice talk we had right before that historic January afternoon, when he was sworn in. I turned to him and said: "Mr. President-elect, our system of government can really only tolerate small plans, and limited ambitions." Think how good it felt to hear my own words echoing across the Mall: "There are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done." Good one, Mr. President!
A few days later, as we were shooting baskets, I said: "Mr. President, you know, I think that in the face of the biggest financial crisis in three generations, you should really do nothing."
And sure enough, at a press conference on Feb. 9, 2009, he quoted me: "There seems to be a set of folks who—I don't doubt their sincerity—who just believe that we should do nothing . . . I don't think that's what the American people expect, is for us to stand by and do nothing." They don't? Guess I lose again!
And you know, I'm not just about policy. I also care a lot about presidential leadership. My preference: Go slower. Do less. Don't try so hard. Don't care so much. Don't be so bold.
Conservatives cry foul when they hear me quoted. They can't imagine anyone is saying the things that Mr. Obama stands up as arguments that he proceeds to knock down. Of course, they haven't met Sotus.
Some say Mr. Obama should make a stronger case for his opponents' positions than his own. The cynics think straw-man arguments by definition prove that the speaker has no proof or logic on his side. Some would force presidential speechwriters to choose between a nifty setup for a zinger and boring rhetoric that puts audiences to sleep.
See, this straw man thing is pretty easy. I just rattled off three of them. Maybe I need to give some of this material to the big guy. He's been saying he needs more material on false choices.
Mr. Neusner is a principal with 30 Point Strategies and was a speechwriter for President George W. Bush.
By NOAM NEUSNER
Some people get quoted in presidential speeches by writing heartfelt letters to the president about personal loss, or by doing something heroic, like landing a plane in the icy Hudson River.
I just sit in the Oval Office, and mouth off to President Barack Obama, one inanity after the next. And sure enough, my words—word for word, mind you!—show up in his biggest speeches.
Who am I? Sotus—Straw man of the United States. I'm Mr. Obama's most trusted rhetorical friend.
In his speeches, Mr. Obama says there are "those" who suggest we "can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures." He suggests there are "some" who are content to let America's economy become, at best, "number two." He says that on health care, "some people" think we should do nothing.
Listen, there is no "some people." He's just quoting me, Sotus.
Why, just a few weeks ago, I said: "Hey, Mr. President, you know, why don't we just fight tired old battles, run up the deficit, and, you know, just chuck common sense to the wind?" Imagine my thrill when I heard Mr. Obama during the recent State of the Union: "Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it's time to try something new. Let's invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let's meet our responsibility to the citizens who sent us here. Let's try common sense." Ouch, Mr. President, you got me there!
And then there was the nice talk we had right before that historic January afternoon, when he was sworn in. I turned to him and said: "Mr. President-elect, our system of government can really only tolerate small plans, and limited ambitions." Think how good it felt to hear my own words echoing across the Mall: "There are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done." Good one, Mr. President!
A few days later, as we were shooting baskets, I said: "Mr. President, you know, I think that in the face of the biggest financial crisis in three generations, you should really do nothing."
And sure enough, at a press conference on Feb. 9, 2009, he quoted me: "There seems to be a set of folks who—I don't doubt their sincerity—who just believe that we should do nothing . . . I don't think that's what the American people expect, is for us to stand by and do nothing." They don't? Guess I lose again!
And you know, I'm not just about policy. I also care a lot about presidential leadership. My preference: Go slower. Do less. Don't try so hard. Don't care so much. Don't be so bold.
Conservatives cry foul when they hear me quoted. They can't imagine anyone is saying the things that Mr. Obama stands up as arguments that he proceeds to knock down. Of course, they haven't met Sotus.
Some say Mr. Obama should make a stronger case for his opponents' positions than his own. The cynics think straw-man arguments by definition prove that the speaker has no proof or logic on his side. Some would force presidential speechwriters to choose between a nifty setup for a zinger and boring rhetoric that puts audiences to sleep.
See, this straw man thing is pretty easy. I just rattled off three of them. Maybe I need to give some of this material to the big guy. He's been saying he needs more material on false choices.
Mr. Neusner is a principal with 30 Point Strategies and was a speechwriter for President George W. Bush.
A Different Viewpoint on Entrepreneurship
OK…I’ve stopped laughing so now I can type out this post. I just finished reading an interview in the NY Times with George Cloutier who is the founder and CEO of Amercan Management Serices…and he has some things to say to all of us entrepreneurs. The article is “Fire Your Relatives. Scare Your Employees. And Stop Whining.” From the article:
It’s not the economy, stupid, it’s you. So says George Cloutier, author of “Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing” Mr. Cloutier, the 63-year-old founder and chief executive of American Management Services, specializes in advising small and midsize businesses and turning troubled companies around.
His advice is to put profits above all. Always pay yourself first. Shock your laggard employees. Don’t accept excuses. His ax falls on trade shows (“they’re just a flimsy excuse for a paid vacation”), sweat equity (“I call it working for nothing and being a fool”) and teamwork (“vastly overrated”). And if you ever apply for a job at American Management Services, don’t mention that you like to play golf.
While there are things in the interview that I do agree with, in the above short paragraph, there are six things that I totally disagree with and others that made me just laugh out loud. Take a moment, read the interview, and get ready to laugh.
It’s not the economy, stupid, it’s you. So says George Cloutier, author of “Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing” Mr. Cloutier, the 63-year-old founder and chief executive of American Management Services, specializes in advising small and midsize businesses and turning troubled companies around.
His advice is to put profits above all. Always pay yourself first. Shock your laggard employees. Don’t accept excuses. His ax falls on trade shows (“they’re just a flimsy excuse for a paid vacation”), sweat equity (“I call it working for nothing and being a fool”) and teamwork (“vastly overrated”). And if you ever apply for a job at American Management Services, don’t mention that you like to play golf.
While there are things in the interview that I do agree with, in the above short paragraph, there are six things that I totally disagree with and others that made me just laugh out loud. Take a moment, read the interview, and get ready to laugh.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Deadliest Catch Star is Dead
When I can’t watch football or hockey, a TV programs that I love is Deadliest Catch, which is a story of a bunch of entrepreneurs who try to keep themselves afloat (literally) in the fishing industry. For those of you who follow the show, according to the NY Daily News, “Captain Phil Harris, the cantankerous, chain-smoking crabbing boat boss who became a household name on Discovery's hit series "The Deadliest Catch," died Tuesday. He was 53.Harris had suffered a stroke Jan. 30 while in port off-loading his ship the F/V Cornelia Marie in Alaska. He had been hospitalized ever since.”
It was hard not to like Phil…he was the guy who was always barking orders, but who also had a loveable side. A couple of seasons ago, he broke down in tears after rescuing one of the crew members who fell overboard into the freezing ocean.
It was hard not to like Phil…he was the guy who was always barking orders, but who also had a loveable side. A couple of seasons ago, he broke down in tears after rescuing one of the crew members who fell overboard into the freezing ocean.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Blogging? Why Should I?
I'm a big fan of the book Groundswell...I made sure to give out around 75 copies last year to judges in our Panasci Business Plan Competition and the Capstone Competition. Based on the comments from the judges, they also enjoyed the book and the issues it raised regarding thinking about your social media media strategy before you jump into the deep end of the pool.
From a blog post of yesterday from the folks who wrote the book.
Why our analysts blog at forrester.com
by Josh Bernoff
I'm not a corporate spokesperson for Forrester. But as a prominent social media analyst here, I wanted to comment on the recent discussion regarding our policy on analysts and blogs.
Forrester is and has always been a leader with analyst blogging. Charlene Li started this blog you’re reading in 2004. We love blogging. And many of our colleagues that came from Jupiter, the company we acquired in 2008 are also avid bloggers.
The Forrester management team needed to make a decision about analysts and blogging -- on our site or off. I didn't make that decision, but I did advise the management, and I agree with the decision we made. What people need to understand is that Forrester is an intellectual property company, and the opinions of our analysts are our product. Blogging is an extension of the other work we do -- doing research, writing reports, working with clients, and giving speeches, for example. As Sting said, "Poets, priests and politicians/Have words to thank for their positions." Analysts, too.
Think about other companies that employ writers and creators of opinion and analysis, like newspapers and magazines. Where do you find David Pogue's posts about gadgets? On the New York Times site, since that's who employs him to do those reviews. You won't find Katie Couric's posts outside of CBS , either. Why not? Because of the confusion that would arise. You know when David and Katie talk, their opinions are part of the content they create for their employers, who are in the content business.
Companies in the information and analysis business are not the same as other companies from this perspective. There are many good blogs by executives and other workers in all sorts of companies, and we certainly believe such companies should allow their employees to blog, subject to the usual rules about not disclosing confidential information, etc.
But for Forrester, it serves our clients better to be able to get to all our blogs from one place, and to know the opinions of analysts that they see are part of the other opinions they read in our reports, in press quotes, and in everywhere else we talk.
Forrester does not yet have individual analyst blogs on our site, but that's coming quite soon. This is why it's so ironic to read comments that "We don't let analysts have individual blogs" or "Forrester should read Groundswell." I cowrote Groundswell, and I believe our policy is the right one. Groundswell says that your employees will be blogging -- it doesn't say that content companies should have their content creators blog anywhere they want. If you're creating content for a content company, that company ought to host your blog.
We’re not stopping analysts from blogging about stuff unrelated to our analytical work. And they can Twitter all they want. And they can blog all they want, about anything relevant to their jobs, right here on blogs.forrester.com. I count 23 blogs there. Some of them are pretty good.
Our analysts will still be blogging here at forrester.com. We're improving the platform to make it easier for analysts to have their own space, and we expect more analysts to be blogging here more often than ever before. You're welcome to take issue with our opinions. But rest assured, you will be able to read those opinions, and we can be just as analytical, provocative, and interesting here at forrester.com as anywhere else on the Web.
From a blog post of yesterday from the folks who wrote the book.
Why our analysts blog at forrester.com
by Josh Bernoff
I'm not a corporate spokesperson for Forrester. But as a prominent social media analyst here, I wanted to comment on the recent discussion regarding our policy on analysts and blogs.
Forrester is and has always been a leader with analyst blogging. Charlene Li started this blog you’re reading in 2004. We love blogging. And many of our colleagues that came from Jupiter, the company we acquired in 2008 are also avid bloggers.
The Forrester management team needed to make a decision about analysts and blogging -- on our site or off. I didn't make that decision, but I did advise the management, and I agree with the decision we made. What people need to understand is that Forrester is an intellectual property company, and the opinions of our analysts are our product. Blogging is an extension of the other work we do -- doing research, writing reports, working with clients, and giving speeches, for example. As Sting said, "Poets, priests and politicians/Have words to thank for their positions." Analysts, too.
Think about other companies that employ writers and creators of opinion and analysis, like newspapers and magazines. Where do you find David Pogue's posts about gadgets? On the New York Times site, since that's who employs him to do those reviews. You won't find Katie Couric's posts outside of CBS , either. Why not? Because of the confusion that would arise. You know when David and Katie talk, their opinions are part of the content they create for their employers, who are in the content business.
Companies in the information and analysis business are not the same as other companies from this perspective. There are many good blogs by executives and other workers in all sorts of companies, and we certainly believe such companies should allow their employees to blog, subject to the usual rules about not disclosing confidential information, etc.
But for Forrester, it serves our clients better to be able to get to all our blogs from one place, and to know the opinions of analysts that they see are part of the other opinions they read in our reports, in press quotes, and in everywhere else we talk.
Forrester does not yet have individual analyst blogs on our site, but that's coming quite soon. This is why it's so ironic to read comments that "We don't let analysts have individual blogs" or "Forrester should read Groundswell." I cowrote Groundswell, and I believe our policy is the right one. Groundswell says that your employees will be blogging -- it doesn't say that content companies should have their content creators blog anywhere they want. If you're creating content for a content company, that company ought to host your blog.
We’re not stopping analysts from blogging about stuff unrelated to our analytical work. And they can Twitter all they want. And they can blog all they want, about anything relevant to their jobs, right here on blogs.forrester.com. I count 23 blogs there. Some of them are pretty good.
Our analysts will still be blogging here at forrester.com. We're improving the platform to make it easier for analysts to have their own space, and we expect more analysts to be blogging here more often than ever before. You're welcome to take issue with our opinions. But rest assured, you will be able to read those opinions, and we can be just as analytical, provocative, and interesting here at forrester.com as anywhere else on the Web.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Helping Our Disabled Military Community
At the Whitman School of Management, we’re launching a new program which will help the caregivers of wounded military veterans or surviving spouses of folks who gave their life in the service of our country... and who want to start their own business. Here’s the official word on the program:
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans’ Families (EBV-F) is an education and training program offered by the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. The program leverages the flexibility inherent in small business ownership to provide a vocational and economic ‘path-forward’ for military family members who are now caregivers to a wounded warrior - or for the surviving spouse of a military member who gave his or her life in service to our country. The EBV-F program integrates training in small business management, with caregiver and family issues, positioning the family member to launch and grow a small business in a way that is complementary or enhancing to other family responsibilities.
Modeled after the existing Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) initiative, the EBV Families program will be offered without any cost to accepted applicants. The Whitman School of Management will launch the first EBV-F program in November of 2010. Applications will be accepted beginning in April of 2010.
More to follow, but if you know of someone who might be interested in this outstanding and FREE program, send them my way and I’ll get them the information they need. This is a FANTASTC program.
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans’ Families (EBV-F) is an education and training program offered by the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. The program leverages the flexibility inherent in small business ownership to provide a vocational and economic ‘path-forward’ for military family members who are now caregivers to a wounded warrior - or for the surviving spouse of a military member who gave his or her life in service to our country. The EBV-F program integrates training in small business management, with caregiver and family issues, positioning the family member to launch and grow a small business in a way that is complementary or enhancing to other family responsibilities.
Modeled after the existing Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) initiative, the EBV Families program will be offered without any cost to accepted applicants. The Whitman School of Management will launch the first EBV-F program in November of 2010. Applications will be accepted beginning in April of 2010.
More to follow, but if you know of someone who might be interested in this outstanding and FREE program, send them my way and I’ll get them the information they need. This is a FANTASTC program.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Ten9Eight Shoot for the Moon
Last night before Chris Gardner’s class here at the Whitman School, he told me about a new movie on youth entrepreneurship. Then this morning, in a phone conversation with Phil McNeill of Virginia, he tells me the same thing. When two guys like this tell you to do something…well, I just have to pay attention.
Take a look at Ten9Eight Shoot for the Moon. It’s a wonderful story about inner city youths and a business plan competition. It’s being shown on Sunday (yes, before the Super Bowl, so it won’t interfere) on BET at noon. Take a look at the trailer, and then set the TIVO and make sure you record it. Or as the columnist Thomas Friedman put it: "Obama should arrange for this movie to be shown in every classroom in America. It is the most inspirational, heartwarming movie you will ever see."- Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, January 23, 2010
Take a look at Ten9Eight Shoot for the Moon. It’s a wonderful story about inner city youths and a business plan competition. It’s being shown on Sunday (yes, before the Super Bowl, so it won’t interfere) on BET at noon. Take a look at the trailer, and then set the TIVO and make sure you record it. Or as the columnist Thomas Friedman put it: "Obama should arrange for this movie to be shown in every classroom in America. It is the most inspirational, heartwarming movie you will ever see."- Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, January 23, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)