Scott Kirsner interviews George Gilder about the pending “dissolution of the television and motion picture industries as we know them”. MP3 Audio. Meanwhile, our good Senator, Herb Kohl has some decisions to make on whether he supports the future, or the past.
Entrepreneurs: Competing with the Big Firms
Tom Peters offers up several useful tips on competing with big organizations:
Can the small player compete in a world of Citigroups and Bank of Americas? I said it was a lark. And I more or less meant it. That is, among other things, giants— “new tech,” CRM, etc notwithstanding— will always be clumsy and impersonal relative to an “intimate local” who is really out to make a dramatic difference.
Cap Times on Media Concentration
A Capital Times Editorial on “Breaking up Big Media Concentration“:
The consolidation of American media has robbed this country’s citizens of the competing journalism, the honest dialogue and the cultural diversity that the founders intended when they wrote a “freedom of the press” protection into the First Amendment to the Constitution.
American media were never perfect, of course.
But the quality and independence of the media have suffered over the past three decades, as Congress and federal regulators rewrote the rules to make it easier for big media companies to buy up more and more of the country’s communication outlets. As recently as 1996, a single company could only own a few dozen radio stations nationally. Now, because of the rule changes contained in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, one company, Clear Channel, owns more than 1,200 stations and dominates many local media markets around the country.
Not a word about the increasing concentration of the daily newspaper business, however. The internet is addressing this question, of course.
EAA Heats Up: B17 Buzzes Madison
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Click on the photos for a larger view.
The EAA’s AirVenture starts Monday. Looks like a fabulous show this year with Burt Rutan’s White Knight/SpaceShipOne paying a visit. A rare WWII vintage B17 buzzed Madison this morning. I snapped these photos in a hurry. The cell tower fly by is an interesting reflection of today’s world vis a vis 1940’s technology. More on the B17.
Customer Service – 2005
Joanne Jacobs tells a useful story about trying to get money back from a credit card company – with a classic ending.
Entrepreneurs: An Interview with Wil Shipley
Drunkenblog interviews Wil Shipley, one of the creators of the quite successful Delicious Monster: “The greatest media cataloging software in the world”. Well worth reading. Via Brent.
Open Source Medical Records System
Now, however, Medicare, which says the lack of electronic records is one of the biggest impediments to improving health care, has decided to step in. In an unprecedented move, it said it planned to announce that it would give doctors – free of charge – software to computerize their medical practices. An office with five doctors could save more than $100,000 by choosing the Medicare software rather than buying software from a private company, officials say.
Verona based Epic Systems creates and supports a medical records product along with many other health care tools. Slashdot discussion. Worldvista site.
Kimberly-Clark Plans Job Cuts/Plant Closings
Kimberly-Clark Corp., which has plants in Neenah and Marinette, said Friday that it will cut about 6,000 jobs and sell or close up to 20 manufacturing plants as it increases spending on certain core products and emerging markets over the next three years.
The company, based in Irving, Texas, makes such products as Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers. Kimberly-Clark disclosed its plans as it reported that its second-quarter earnings fell to $421.8 million, or 88 cents per share, from $454.3 million, or 90 cents per share, in the comparable period last year.
K-C moved it’s headquarters from the Fox Valley to Dallas years ago. They still have a large presence in Wisconsin.
Tour de France Quicktime VR Scene – Albi
Gilles Vidal posted a beautiful VR scene of the Tour passing through Albi yesterday.
Saving 10% of Your Salary Is No Longer Enough
The Commerce Department reports a surprisingly low American savings average of under 2% and for those who are dutifully socking away 10% of their pretax income it may not be enough.
Jonathan Clements:
Just when folks ought to be saving more, they are saving less. Trouble ahead? You’d better believe it.
Yes, I have heard all the arguments about how the true savings rate is higher than the 1.3% calculated for 2004 by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, or BEA. But don’t let that distract you from the bigger issue.
In a world of disappearing company pensions, skimpy bond yields, rich stock valuations and rising life expectancies, anybody interested in a comfortable retirement should be saving a truckload of money every year — and yet most folks aren’t.
Rate debate. Among pundits, belittling the official savings rate has become something of a national pastime. Some of the arguments seem a little suspect, like the suggestion that buying televisions, cars and other consumer durables ought to be considered saving rather than spending.