Looking at the latest AccuWeather radar…
Looks like we are in for a wild ride tonight.
Commentary
What Makes One a Co-founder in a Startup?
That’s why some people say that anyone who joins a company before they raise money is a founder. In other words, anyone who joins the company before the stock has value to a third party, is considered to be a founder.
via Are founders really 1000x more valuable than employees? – Venture Hacks.
Was previously unaware that this was the case. Certainly to join a venture that has not raised funding can be and is risky. Perhaps it is this risk of it falling apart and building a product or service from a value of $0 that makes one a founder as part of joining the team early.
Tablet Computers in Education – Specifically, College
And, if the tales of Facebook and Google are any indication, the new champions of education might not be a McGraw-Hill or Blackboard, but a couple of intrepid tinkerers toying around with their new tablet.
via Apple’s iPad Officially Passes the Higher Education Test [Exclusive] | Fast Company.
Imagination + Technology + Action (can) = Amazing Success
*Read the full article in Fast Company.
A Twitter Follow Strategy #Fail
It’s almost like clockwork.
Follow, no reciprocity, unfollow
Follow, no reciprocity, unfollow
On and on the strategy goes.
Where is that Fake Follow feature Mike Arrington talked about?
Larger Yammer Ad in The Wall Street Journal
Gmail–Job Ad–No Jobs Listed
While checking email this evening I noticed a job ad at the top of the Gmail inbox. See image nearby. So, I think maybe I’ll know someone that might be a fit, I click on the ad and end up at the page below, there are no jobs listed.
Ad in Gmail
Perhaps the job listings were down for the moment. You might try the link above the screenshot later to see if the jobs are correctly displayed.
If the jobs are not showing because there are no job opening, there is money being wasted on advertising. Perhaps this is a ruse where hungry job seekers seek a job, none are listed and highly interested people take action. Some things they might consider are as follows.
- Email the firm inquiring about jobs
- Check their LinkedIn account for connections to the firm
- Take action based on findings
- Calling the firm cold and having a story that is interesting and compelling to the gatekeeper who answers.
Sometimes firms place barriers in the way to filter out candidates. If small barriers prevent further action, that candidate is probably not suitable for the job.
Snow Snow Snow
Looks like the slowing of snowfall is temporary. More on the way.
Midnight Madness Sale – Sears
Was looking for a tool and thought I might check out what Sears had to offer. Upon visiting the Sears website, the ad above was quite prominent. This seemed more like an ad a retailer would do around Thanksgiving. A bit surprising to see it in late January. Perhaps this is the end of the quarter for Sears.
Ford Profit Sharing – The Role of Profit Sharing on the Michigan Economy
Ford, in reporting its biggest profit in more than a decade Friday, disappointed Wall Street but pleased UAW workers with bonuses averaging $5,000.
The profit-sharing bonus was two-thirds larger than the amount Ford was required to pay under its contract, said UAW President Bob King.
“What’s really important for our members to know is they didn’t have to do this,” King told the Free Press.
With about 20,000 Ford hourly workers living in Michigan, the checks, due in March, will help lift the state’s economy.
Time for some quick math. If each of the 20,000 hourly Ford workers in Michigan gets a check for $5,000 how much might that boost the Michigan economy?
Let’s assume that the check is for the full amount and that each worker on average will spend 60% of it in the 30 days after they get it.
20,000 (checks) * $5,000 = $100,000,000
At a 60% spend, one hundred million dollars will generate $60,000,000 in economy boosting cash flow. It will be interesting to see how the Michigan economy does in the months of March, April and May. It would seem likely that dining out will increase and that fuller restaurants will equal more tips for servers. Will the general sense of optimism create a measurable up tick in consumer confidence? I for one believe it will and time will tell if that is an accurate prediction of what will occur.
Immigration, Michigan, Entrepreneurship and Job Creation
Global Detroit cites Duke University research indicating a third of Michigan’s high-tech startup companies founded between 1995 and 2005 had at least one immigrant founder. A U.S. Small Business Administration report found that 16 percent of all Michigan businesses started between 1996 and 2007 were started by an immigrant.
Creating an environment that is welcoming to people interested in starting their own business is critical. Having policies that attract and bring talented people to Michigan from other nations and that are more likely to start-up a business enterprise could be a jobs engine.
There was a time when Detroit and Michigan were leaders in innovation and manufacturing. Manufacturing will probably not be a job engine for Michigan as it was in the past. technology and services are the areas that are poised to be fast growing and provide the most opportunity.
D.L. Damore 