Facebook makes Stephen Colbert a front-runner originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bloggingstockcast: Target loses executive to Family Dollar, Apple to sell non-DRM tracks on iTunes, American Idol fans get upset with Stern

Bloggingstockcast: Target loses executive to Family Dollar, Apple to sell non-DRM tracks on iTunes, American Idol fans get upset with Stern originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube just isn't making a lot of friends these days. Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE: VIA) suing, network's are mad, and now a country has banned the video-sharing website. Again. According to Winai Yoosabai, head of the censorship unit at Thailand's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, "We have blocked YouTube because it contains a video insulting to our king."

Apparently Thailand banned the site after asking YouTube to remove the offensive video and receiving a curt refusal from the Google-owned company: According to the New York Times, "The clip, crude and amateurish and lasting less than a minute, depicts the king with clown features painted onto his face and an image of feet pasted over his head, an insulting gesture in Thailand."

In March, Turkey blocked the country for a short-time after a video appeared that was insulting to the founder of modern Turkey. A Brazilian court had the site blocked after videos of a famous actress from the country with her lover appeared on the site.

And so, as a patriotic American, I am here to make an impassioned plea to the American government. In recent weeks, numerous videos have appeared on YouTube making fun of one of our nation's most talented and beloved entertainers. I'm speaking, of course, of Sanjaya. Consider this clip of the Sanjaya Anthem. We simply cannot stand for this crude mockery of our national treasure.

YouTube banned in Thailand -- should the U.S. follow suit? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

My recent stories about American Idol inflamed reader passions from many perspectives. Sanjaya aside, the idea of American companies out-sourcing jobs to India or anywhere else offends many people. Some readers of American Idol: Are Indian call centers skewing the vote? thought I was singling out the people of India which they interpreted as hostile and racist. I thought I would set the record straight about my views on the subject.

1. The jobs we are sending overseas to India, or elsewhere, is not affecting the employment rate in the United States to any appreciable level. Last I read the unemployment rate stood at 4.5%. It has been hovering between 4% and 5% for several years. To me that is actually close to full employment in a market society as complex as ours. I have no expectation that we could sustain anything lower.
2. Our connection and developing relationship with India in particular is extremely valuable. I believe India has as much potential as any nation, and more than most, to help us expand our economy. It's size, value system, geographic location, history, English foundation, and more make it a great partner. There is much more to gain than to lose for both sides.
3. The fluidity of markets and the greatest transparency in business dealings should be our focus and the word globalization is sometimes a distraction. It is not specific and means different things to different people. Integration is a better word. International partnering is a better term. Since the market is becoming more and more fluid we have not only witnessed call-centers and software development moving overseas, but in some cases they are coming back as companies experiment and decide they function better with local talent and control.

One of the greatest ironies I find in this whole discussion is that the people that complain about the outsourcing of work to other countries are the same ones that complain if a foreign company comes to set up shop in the United States - bringing jobs here!

Continue reading Call centers won't go away - American Idol notwithstanding

Call centers won't go away - American Idol notwithstanding originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Mar 2007 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A week of less funny and more irony, shame, and disappointment for some, and plenty of outrage as usual. I do not think anything was more outrageous than the announcement that Halliburton will take the money and run! by moving it's headquarters from Texas to Dubai. Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL) framed the move as "it's just good business" and it had a few supporters -- I was not among them. To summarize: "The company can rationalize it to the world press, Wall Street, and the three blind mice for all I care, but it still stinks to the high heavens!"

Sick Of It, wrote: "First we loose Michael Jackson to Dubai & now Halliburton......." I think HAL's reasoning is not so far off from MJ's. After taking our money, and behaving scandalously, they do not feel loved and respected anymore.

American Idol or Sad Idol?

Sanjaya is now among the top eleven competitors on Amercan Idol or Survivor: It's for real and may start to get some sympathy votes now because he looks so sad and remorseful on stage, his joyful smile turning to nervous laugh. He does have many legitimate supporters, but the Vote the Worst crowd bothers me as much as Halliburton. They have rationalized their existence as poorly as HAL its departure. They have contributed to a mean-spirited, tortuous-to-watch situation, which in the end will have a long-term detrimental affect on Sanjaya that may be inescapable for his whole life. I don't think this is how he would like to be remembered. At the same time they choose to mock American Idol, they probably have helped stir things up on a relatively boring season ... but this stinks to the high heavens also!

Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Halliburton, Oil, Duke, DUK & Voting

Sunday Funnies: Halliburton, Oil, Duke, DUK & Voting originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Having received many comments about my American Idol post (American Idol: Are Indian call centers skewing the vote?) and remaining puzzled about how a clearly out-classed contestant, Sanjaya, beat out several more talented contestants round after round to remain among the final twelve, I believe I now have come up with a plausible answer.

The answer can, surprisingly, be found in the stock market trends and the daily closing prices -- no kidding!

American Idol will start the countdown tonight from 12 hopeful singers down to the one happy winner. There will be surprises along the way just like in any kind of market. Voting will be with telephone calls and text messages instead of money, but to avid fans, the stakes for their favorites are high. We are told this is the top-rated show on television.

Remember the often quoted comment by Benjamin Graham? He said, "In the short-term the markets are like voting machines, but over the long-term they are like weighing machines." Well, in the short term strange things can happen but in the long term it should make sense. Not perfect sense, but close!

Continue reading American Idol puzzle solved: Market Theory

American Idol puzzle solved: Market Theory originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Mar 2007 21:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.