Archive for the ‘Business/Investment’ Category
Safe investing means doing your homework
My earlier post ‘Good advice: Google the salesmen and their get-rich-quick scheme‘, included the suggestion that a bit of research and homework could save a lot of pain and regret: look at the track records of these guys and their previous ‘enterprises’? Do some due diligence and don’t believe the hype. I’ve been struck by […]
In defence of Shaun Stenning — (update: FAKE) Jennifer from Oz
This comment floated in overnight — from ‘Jennifer‘, [who is a sockpuppet. See UPDATE 2 below] in response to last month’s post ‘Is this how Shaun Stenning handles a request for a refund?‘ and, oh, she accuses me of insincerity, to say the least: Hi Peter, It seems you like to play devils advocate don’t […]
Is this how Shaun Stenning handles a request for a refund?
A heartfelt comment recently on an earlier thread suggests a mass rebellion of dissatisfied customers in Shaun Stenning‘s Twalk ‘internet marketing business’ in Asia. (Sometimes they use the brand ‘Snipr‘, I believe.) Shades of the Geekversity train wreck which saw demand for refunds sink that um, ‘enterprise’ with a AUD $5.5million loss. This smooth-talking itinerant […]
Facebook for Business? Erm, not like this!
Apropos my ongoing gripe about Facebook privacy… A friend of mine, Marc, mentioned here now and then, has written a book called ‘Facebook for Business‘ … this story (below) might inspire another chapter in the next edition. What NOT to do…. as Click Orlando Radio reports: ORLANDO, Fla. — A Central Florida woman claims a […]
When the rules change, everyone goes back to the start
Quite a nice followup to my earlier post about e-books changing the publishing/bookselling industry, and notes from Mark Coker. Booksellers: Why Publishers Will Go Direct by Martin Taylor. Quite simply, no one believes that Random House has any more influence over the digital supply chain than a brand new start-up with minimal staff or track […]
Nice to be clear – Mark Coker on e-Books
I enjoyed a fascinating and informative day at the NZ Society of Authors seminar, Publishing for Authors — the whole picture yesterday. One of the keynote speakers was Mark Coker of Smashwords who talked about the past and preset of e-books, trends in the market, and the mistakes he sees US publishers making that perhaps […]
Words fail me
Not a good look for the Serious Fraud Office. Disappointing is an understatement.
Bloomberg ‘Game Changers’ video retrospective on Steve Jobs
Well worth watching… Bloomberg Game Changers — http://www.bloomberg.com/video/63722844/ 48 minutes — 227 MB of worthwhile bandwidth. (Thanks to TUAW.)
Interview with John Sculley about the genius of Steve Jobs
This transcript of a recent interview by Leander Kahney with former Apple Computer CEO John Scully about founder and rescuer of Apple Steve Jobs is fascinating, if you care. Just one clip (seriously, go and read it): Sculley: It’s okay to be driven a little crazy by someone who is so consistently right. What I’ve […]
Spooky. Is privacy passé now?
Following up on our discussion about how people can be ‘tracked’ through Facebook, Facebook leaks like a sieve, here’s another twist. Ars Technica reports research which found: “a significant number of popular Android applications transmit private user data to advertising networks without explicitly asking or informing the user.“ Um, by golly. I don’t like the […]
OMG is the ‘inter-generational wealth transfer’ meme gaining currency?
The cover of the current North & South magazine features a young bloke wearing Jed Clampett-inspired depression couture with the headline: Ripped off by baby boomers? / The Broke Generation / or a bunch of wingers? I haven’t read the article yet, but it probably has some roots in the same ideas Bernard Hickey promulgated […]
What you say ‘No’ to
Sometimes the ‘opportunity’ isn’t worth the cost. Earlier this month there was some discussion about Apple and Facebook not agreeing terms for co-operation… … both Facebook and Apple had spoken about integrating more closely with the new iTunes social network Ping, but Facebook asked for “onerous terms that we could not agree to” regarding Facebook […]
Backstabbing, conniving, and insensitive — just what we need?
From a New Yorker profile of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg: “He stole the moment, he stole the idea, and he stole the execution,” Cameron [Winklevoss] told me recently. The dispute has been in court almost since Facebook was launched, six years ago. … To prepare for litigation against the Winklevosses and Narendra, Facebook’s legal team searched […]
Mr Phil Jones: re-heating cold horseshit
Ugh. I’ve just been slimed (again) by a man I personally regard as a dishonest and obnoxious bully-boy. So, in keeping with my general policy of confronting and directly answering criticism, here’s a response: (Only read it if you’re actually interested … OK?) It was a case of ‘speak of the devil’ — A couple […]
Google Is Now Officially Evil
Google Is Now Officially Evil — Business Insider Worth reading, and so is the lawsuit filing from Skyhook (PDF hosted at Daring Fireball) In short, Skyhook says that Google effectively forced Motorola to cancel a deal with Skyhook in which Skyhook would have provided location-based services in Motorola phones — because Google wanted Motorola to use Google’s […]
