20 Odd Questions: James Dyson – WSJ.com: “Mr. Dyson, 65, created his first consumer product—a wheelbarrow with a ball in place of a wheel—in 1974. “
(Via.)
Research and Development → Invention.
Feb 212013
Sep 192012
Paywall Fail
Was just browsing the Business section of the WSJ and this jumped out at me. An article that concerns food safety and health (Food recalls)) should not be behind the paywall.
Sep 122012
Wary of Holiday Forecasts, Retailers Stay Flexible:
This year, retailers say they want to be more flexible, ready to ramp up on best sellers and cut off supplies of the duds.
(Via WSJ.com: US Business)
Will air freight be the big winner this holiday season?
Apr 052012
Sears to License Kenmore, Craftsman Names:
(Via WSJ.com: US Business)
The path to brand dilution?
*Full story is behind the great wall of subscriber.
Jan 072012
PayPal Launches Pilot In-Store Payment Service:
PayPal, the electronic-payments division of eBay, said it is testing an in-store payment system with Home Depot that allows shoppers to purchase items without cash or a conventional credit card.
(Via WSJ.com: US Business)
This is a development worth watching. Retailers are pushing back on interchange fees and there is an opportunity for new ideas to take hold with some big players.
Prediction: Disruption to the credit card payment system is coming.
Apr 182011
Free coffee at Starbucks on Earth Day, April 22. Travel mug for the win.
Note:
Ad was on The Wall Street Journal website earlier today. 4/18/2011
Apr 122011
Was just reading a post on Tech Crunch about the new Business Week iPad app. One of the complaints was that the content of the app is updated once per week, just like a real magazine.
IDEA
Post all the writings of their talent in the app as it is completed. Then, based on the user data and feedback from the users of the iPad app, adjust what stories are featured in the magazine. This could be done with the top five articles that readers have rated highest. This could be highlighted in a page that explains what the stories are and where readers can find them in the magazine. Magazine readers may find this curation by the crowd to be of considerable value.
Notes
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have a similar feature in what published articles were most emailed, read or shared. Example links are below.
Feb 282011
When people tell friends about products and services that turn out to be crappy, the relationship suffers, trust is eroded away. That same erosion of trust happens to companies that associate with or promote low quality products and services (ads).
Ads like those pictured above are not doing readers any favors. One might even say, ads like these damage the brand of The Wall Street Journal.
*The screenshot of ads above were from the right sidebar of the Wall Street Journal website on 2/28/2011 at 12:15 P.M. EST.
Feb 092011
Jan 052011
Borders had an estimated 8.1% of retail sales of new printed books in 2010, compared to 22.5% for Amazon.com Inc., and 17.3% for Barnes & Noble, according to estimates from the Institute for Publishing Research, run by Fordham University Prof. Albert N. Greco.
via Borders Wants Suppliers to Accept Longer-Term IOUs – WSJ.com.
What go my attention in the section above is that Barnes and Noble is only 5.2% behind Amazon.com in market share for new printed books. Would have thought Amazon would have 30-40% market share and hacve a significant lead over other retailers.