Monthly Newsletter

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MonthlyNewsletter

May2012

Quick Links:

Video IndexAbstract Index

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• Are We Really Running Out of Spectrum?

• Live, Local…Illegal? Online TV ’s New War

VIDEO INDEX

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*ABSTRACT INDEX

• The Myth of Controlled Gas Prices • Student Loan Debt Could Stifle Recovery• General Using the Web Wisely to Manage Debt• Motors’ Culture of Failure• Leaving Outer Space for Silicon Valley• Retailers Hope to Halt Showrooming• How Vibram Fended off the Fakes• Nike Changes Its Marketing Game• Protecting the IT Department from Itself• The Yellow Pages Prepare for the Future

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• President Obama is facing criticism for failing to contain gas prices.

• In reality, the volatility of oil futures markets

makes it nearly impossible for any person to actual control fuel costs.

• While the President is trying to rein in oil

speculation, his reforms would need to be copied by foreign oil markets and traders to be effective.

The Myth of Controlled Gas Prices

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• What type of world events can cause the price of oil to escalate?

What do you think?

• Do you think the United States will ever lose its dependence on oil?

Photo courtesy of Nakeva Corothers

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• Approximately 37 million Americans owe more than $1 trillion in student loan debt.

• While decreased state funding played a role,

skyrocketing tuition is a major cause of the current student debt crisis.

• The economy could face permanent damage as

new graduates enter the working world burdened by debt and less likely to buy things.

Student Loan DebtCould Stifle Recovery

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• Has the poor economy inflated the problem of student debt?

What do you think?

• Should the government step in and assist students with their debt problems?

Photo courtesy of Occupy Posters

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• When entrepreneur Rod Ebrahimi was in debt, he discovered that many debt reduction websites asked for too much personal info.

• He started his own website called

ReadyForZero.com that actually helps consumers understand their debt problems.

• While most sites act as number crunchers,

ReadyForZero provides necessary resources for people to get control of their finances.

Using the Web Wiselyto Manage Debt

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• What is the primary reason many consumers have debt problems?

What do you think?

• Do governments suffer the same debt management problems as consumers?

Photo courtesy of Keith Williamson

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• A year after its IPO debuted to heavy fanfare, General Motors once again finds itself in financial trouble.

• Companies in crisis like GM often wait too long to change their ways due to risk-averse corporate culture.

• Once a company reaches crisis mode, the

immediate sources of the problems can be contained but their deeper causes remain.

General Motors’ Culture of Failure

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• Why is it so difficult for a corporate culture to change?

What do you think?

• Is it fair to say General Motors is at a crossroad?

Photo courtesy of Nadir Hashmi

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• The end of the space shuttle program as well as other spending cuts led to significant layoffs at NASA.

• With resources dwindling at NASA, some of the nation’s brightest minds are quitting the space game to work for technology startups.

• For Silicon Valley, the NASA brain drain

represents the largest pool of technology talent to become available in 25 years.

Leaving Outer Spacefor Silicon Valley

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• Why have NASA workers not experienced typical unemployment problems?

What do you think?

• Who are the winners and losers from the cutbacks at NASA?

Photo courtesy of Tim Drivas

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• “Showroomers” are people who browse brick-and-mortar stores to compare products only to head home and buy the items online.

• Retailers are trying to combat showrooming by

offering exclusive products and in-store pickups for items bought online.

• Still, even companies like Target and Wal-Mart

can’t compete with the low prices of sites like Amazon.

Retailers Hope to Halt Showrooming

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• What’s the best way for retail stores to combat “showrooming?”

What do you think?

• Is it ethical for consumers to use brick-and-mortar retailers as “showrooms” for online stores?

Photo courtesy of Karen Blumberg

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• The shoemaker Vibram’s five-toed design became an instant hit with runners who wanted to replicate the feeling of going barefoot.

• The shoes became popular with bootleggers

who flooded the market with fake shoes when Vibram couldn’t keep up with demand.

• To combat piracy, Vibram has ramped up its

production and began cracking down on web sites selling the phony footwear.

How Vibram Fended off the Fakes

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• What is one of the key reasons product piracy is a problem that won’t go away?

What do you think?

• Did poor planning help to lead to Vibram’s problems?

Photo courtesy of Ross Mayfield

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• Although Nike spent $2.4 billion on marketing last year, most of that money went to new media rather than magazine or TV ads.

• A recent Nike ad created by an Oscar-

nominated director premiered on Facebook rather than television.

• Athletic tools such as the Nike + FuelBand allows the company to collect valuable data on consumers’ exercise habits.

Nike Changes ItsMarketing Game

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• What’s one reason Nike abandoned its traditional advertising?

What do you think?

• Will other companies follow Nike and expand their efforts into social media?

Photo courtesy of Doug Kline

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• Since IT staffs often have full control of a company’s network, hackers use IT accounts as a gateway to other valuable information.

• Companies have begun to track the actions of their IT staffs to ensure no one in the department has gone rogue or been hacked.

• Some cautious executives analyze the language in IT workers’ emails to make sure they haven’t turned against the company.

Protecting the ITDepartment from Itself

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• Is IT being unfairly singled out for scrutiny within organizations today?

What do you think?

• Should employee emails be fair game for companies to view and monitor?

Photo courtesy of Marcel Oosterwijk

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• Publishers threw 422 million directory books onto America’s porches last year.

• Revenues from print directories fell by $7.3 billion since 2007 while digital directory revenue increased 14% to $2 billion annually.

• Directory companies like the Yellow Pages are

reshaping their business models to become online image consultants.

The Yellow PagesPrepares for the Future

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• Will the Yellow Pages become a dinosaur in the near future?

What do you think?

• What road should the Yellow Pages take to ensure its survival?

Photo courtesy of Thomas Hawk