It's no longer fresh news that a contingent of social network users have rapidly become disenchanted with the privacy protocols over on Facebook (GOOG). The Internet rumor mill has generated tales as wild as "60 percent of Facebook users are considering deleting their accounts," and "Facebook exodus planned for May 31."

Now let's see if I have this straight here; I am supposed to believe that tens of millions of Internet users initially thought that they could register with Facebook, upload half their personal biographies to the site, and then remain virtually invisible to all but their chosen few friends? Then, it's expected I'll believe that tens of millions of disenchanted Facebook users are going to organize themselves, plan a virtual walk-out, and then successfully execute it? Somehow, I really find all of this difficult to believe. In fact, I think it's a bunch of baloney.

Continue reading Facebook: Straighten Up and Fly Right

Facebook: Straighten Up and Fly Right originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 May 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As violence continues to hammer the Gaza Strip, Muslim groups are calling for a boycott of goods produced by The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX), and other U.S. companies. The boycott is meant to protest the alliance between Israel and the U.S., and it comes as the U.S. embassy in Malaysia is being swarmed with thousands of angry protesters.

"We urge Muslim consumers internationally to unite so that we can teach a lesson to Israel and its allies," said Ma'amor Osman, an official with the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia. "This is to object to the arrogance and cruelty of Israel and its allies towards the Palestinians."

Additionally, the group is urging the Malaysian government to cease its contract agreements with U.S.-based firms. Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad is also jumping on the bandwagon, calling for Muslims to stop using the U.S. dollar. "If enough of us do this, then [the dollar's] value will fall, just like what they did to us in 1997," he asserted.

Continue reading Islamic groups urge boycott of Coca-Cola as Gaza Strip conflict continues

Islamic groups urge boycott of Coca-Cola as Gaza Strip conflict continues originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I almost can't believe that I'm writing about this, but I guess some prudes will get up in arms about anything.

BBC News reports that a U.S. based Christian group known as The Resistance is calling for a nationwide boycott of the coffee selling giant, Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX). The group's complaint against the company stems from the commemorative use of a toned-down version of the company's original logo. Starbucks states that the logo, which features a dual-tailed mermaid sporting cleavage, is not inappropriate. The fringe Christian group refers to the logo as a naked woman with legs "spread like a prostitute."

The news report from BBC states: "Howard Schultz, who bought Starbucks in 1982, described the emblem in his memoirs as "bare-breasted and Rubenesque; [it] was supposed to be as seductive as coffee itself."

To look at the logo that is claimed to offend, one has a difficult time even seeing it as raunchy. To call the flared dual tails a pair of spread legs might be a feat best accomplished while on serious hallucinogens. Clearly, this group of well-meaning Christians is at a loss for real issues to attack. The fringe group's lack of imagination in seeking some media exposure for itself is seen by me as a shallow act of spotlight grabbing.

Starbucks is reported by the BBC as stating that the bare breasted mermaid will appear on some of its cups for several weeks as part of a company promotion. It was not revealed which of Starbucks' 16,000 coffee shops in 44 countries will be featuring the racy mermaid cups. However, I'm sure that anyone who is interested in getting one of these alleged soft-porn coffee cups may rest assured that, before too long, they'll be available to anyone via eBay.

To see all 10 of Sarah Gilbert's top 10 best and worst naked advertising campaigns, click here.

Starbucks goes slutty and wakes up the fringe originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 31 May 2008 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to company spokesmen Usher Lieberman, the company definitely "didn't feel an impact from the strike." While sellers have hoped that the current boycott would lead to the reversal of the latest fee changes, Lieberman has declared that no changes will be made.

So now we are basically in posturing mode between eBay and its sellers. The sellers have decided to extend the strike another week in hopes that eBay will reconsider its decision. My advice to the sellers: don't hold your breath. Even if eBay does start to feel some pain from the strike, chances are low that it will give in.

Continue reading eBay (EBAY) denies any impact from seller strike

eBay (EBAY) denies any impact from seller strike originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading eBay sellers extend strike to March 3

eBay sellers extend strike to March 3 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading What is eBay doing? Well, let me tell you...

What is eBay doing? Well, let me tell you... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In a broad and sweeping move that will send out reverberations similar in impact to the first sixteen bars of a Van Halen song, the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau announced that they shall have nothing further to do with a major attempt to commoditize television advertising time by making that time available for purchase in an online auction type venue. New York Times.com (registration required) reported that the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, a New York based trade group, has officially backed away from the proposition citing a quote from Sean Cunningham, president and chief executive of the cable association clearly stating that, "We don't believe that eBay is going to get this right."

Using the word "boycott," cable entertainment providers including ESPN, Discovery Channel, and Lifetime have officially exited the program, leaving the eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) headed project without any air time to sell. A consortium of heavy hitters were backing eBay in the experiment and had committed up to $50 million to build and test the model. Now though, they may be left high and dry, wondering if they have hired eBay expertise for zero gain after all.

Perhaps the most powerful statement in this situation so far is the reluctance of Google to issue any statement at all regarding the cable television pullout, as evidenced in a Jupiter Research blog post by David Card. Being that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is so deeply entrenched in the internet as an advertising sales vehicle, one must suppose that they have taken this development pretty hard. That is, of course, unless they approached it with a "wait and see" attitude right from the start. If no statement issues from Google in the coming week, we might be tempted to think that Google suspected that the effort could fail miserably from the time it got off the ground.

I warned of this development quite some time ago in a comment section right here on a BloggingStock eBay post. I cited the fact that the television advertising industry has had a very firm grip on what they are doing for about 50 or so years now. I find it silly to think that the program would be changed over night. Just because a few talking heads say they want to take over the sale of television advertising time won't make it so. Personally, I think trying to change the dynamics of how television advertising is sold would be something similar to trying to sink the USS Enterprise with a .22 pistol.

But that's just my opinion.

Cable Television declaration sets Google and eBay on their heels originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Apr 2007 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Malaysia boycott of Starbucks, Coke urged, warned against originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Aug 2006 18:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.