Know More Media

Hancock Twist May Not Make Sense, But it's No Match for Will Smith Super-Brand

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:26:30 -0700

"Hancock," starring Will Smith, dominated the box office this weekend, but left critics befuddled and confused with an unexpected plot twist.

Having not seen the movie, I will say that my desire to do so is not at all averted by the negative buzz. In fact, all the talk about twisted plots piqued my interest more than the previews for said movie. I even dug up a spoiler review, just to find out what the big deal was. This makes me wonder how the buzz will affect others who may have been ambivalent about seeing the movie.

Ever since "Independence Day" in 1996, Will Smith has made a career of being the 4th of July box office king. As such, if Smith is in an Independence Day movie, the audiences will come and according to TIME magazine "a critique of Hancock is an essay in irrelevance." Will Smith is such a powerful brand, it makes no difference whether the movie is great or a total bust; if Smith is in it, the audiences flock to theaters.

Businesses Like to Celebrate the 4th of July Too!

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:03:39 -0700

National holidays are big retail days in the USA, and the 4^th of July is no exception. Our citizens celebrate Independence Day in many different ways, and just about every one of those ways involves spending money, and guarantees increased revenue for some business somewhere. Let’s take a look at the businesses that stand to gain the most from the hot 4^th of July holiday weekend.

Supermarkets… July 4^th spawns countless picnics and barbeques, which means families stocking up on meat, cheese, buns, paper products, deserts, and more, making supermarkets (and superstores like Wal-Mart) very busy.

Gas stations… despite the high price of gas and the consequent decrease of travel this year, a huge number of people will still be traveling for July 4 weekend.

Retail stores… the smart retail stores hold mid-year Independence Day sales, thus enticing more business.

Fireworks… whether it’s legal in your state or not, tons of fireworks will be sold and ignited, both at sanctioned fireworks shows and in your neighbor’s yard.

Sam Israel Steals $450 Million, Fakes Suicide, Gets Arrested

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:49:15 -0700

All in a month's work?

Samuel Israel, a bigtime hedge fund business leader, was convicted and sentenced a few weeks ago for swindling $450 million from his customers.

So he did the logical thing.

He faked his own suicide and hid.

And of course that wasn't very fun.

So today Sam Israel surrendered to Massachusetts police.

Cue the O'Jays.

Okay, actually ... cue the MASH theme.

That's right - Israel's fake farewell message to the world was "Suicide is Painless," which he fingerpainted in dust on the hood of his car before leaving it on a 150-foot-high bridge a month ago.

The Web makes a situation like this a little, um, hard to overcome.

If you're a business leader, take a lesson from the sad Sam Israel story and:

1. Don't cheat.

2. Don't run from justice.

3. Don't fake your own death.

4. Don't drag the MASH theme through the dust - er, mud.

What do you think we can learn from Sam Israel's criminal activities?

EveryScape: Constructing The Real World Online

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:57:58 -0700

Everyscape is a new service that takes the idea of street view maps to a whole new level. Like the street view feature on Google Maps (NASDAQ:GOOG)you can see °360 views of the street, go on virtual walks down the street, zoom in on images; shows you a 3D street view of a given city. There are two key differences with Everyscape: you can take virtual tours of the interiors of various busnesses and tourist locations and anyone can contribute.

Virtual tours are not necessarily a new thing. Already we can take virtual tours of restaurants, clubs, wedding chapels, art exhibits and so much more. It was only a matter of time before those tours became 3D and incorporated entire cities. How does EveryScape plan to create a 3D virtual world? Starting one cosmopalitan city at a time. With the recent addition of With $7 million in venture capital backing to its coffer, Everscape is planning to expand its sales force, eccelerate new city launches and implement some community initiatives.

Know More Media Review: Link Love

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:59:02 -0700

Another week is ending and the flurry of news continues. Here's what the Know More Media authors have been discussing over the last couple of weeks.

Apple made big buzz with the unveiling of the iPhone 3G:
3G iPhone: July 1th Starting at $199 (view article) - BizToolBelt
Apple 3G iPhone Release Announced (view article) - GrowYourFunds
$199 iPhone is Here but AT&T is Still In the Picture (view article) - MarketingBlurb
Steve Jobs Launches the 3G iPhone... (view article) - AdHurl
iPhone Review (view article) - WebMetricsGuru
Apple's Recession Priced iPhone... (view article) - BrandingPost

The Associated Press is going after the blogosphere:
Associated Press Says Get Lost to Bloggers (view article) - MarketingBlurb
Associated Press Backpedals; Not Really (view article) - MarketingBlurb
Associated Press To Charge Bloggers For Siting as Few as 5 Words (view article) - MarketingBlurb
The Associated Press Shoves its Weight Around (view article) - TheDemoMemo
Associated Press to Blogosphere: Pay Up (view article) - BrandingPost
When It Comes to Blogging the Associated Press is Not Amused! (view article) - AdHurl

Random Link Love:
Secrets of Change Within Your Brain (view article) - BrainBasedBusiness
Liberation and Heuristics (view article) - BizMediaScience
Rats Deserting the Sinking Yahoo! (view article) - AdHurl
Top 10 Productive Activities While Stuck in Traffic (view article) - ProductivityGoal
Google's Age of Innocence is Over (view article) - WebMetricsGuru
How Starbucks Uses Psychological Triggers to Influence Customers (view article) - SmallBizMentor
The Marketing Secrets Behind Harry Potter Revealed at Last (view article) - SmallBizMentor
Newest Supercomputer Twice as Fast as Nearest Competitor (view article) - TheAlphaMarketer

Top 5 Reasons Why Bill Gates Leaving Microsoft is a Good Thing

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:31:20 -0700

Bill Gates leaves Microsoft today. Here's why that's a good thing.

5. (If you love Google) Sets the stage for Google to overtake Microsoft in the desktop office software department.

4. (If you hate Google) Sets the stage for Microsoft to combat Google in the Web-based office tools arena.

3. Now someone else can become the world's third-richest man.

2. Now Gates has a chance to define his life's legacy as something different from being Microsoft's dominant leader for well over two decades.

... and ...

1. Fighting against diseases vs. fighting for computing world domination. 'Nuff said.

Do you think Gates' departure is good or bad for Microsoft? What about for the world?

ProductivityGoal.com by Alfa Mercado is Named to List of Top 50 Productivity Blogs by Evan Carmichael

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:38:49 -0700

The Know More Media network’s blog on workplace and life productivity, ProductivityGoal.com, was recently named one of the Top 50 Productivity Blogs by EvanCarmichael.com. ProductivityGoal.com’s author is the productivity savvy Alfa Mercado, who has been writing on the blog for over half a year.

ProductivityGoal comes in at #32 on Evan Carmichael’s Top 50 Productivity Blogs list. Carmichael created the list to “help give you the tools to make your life and business more productive and allow you to reap the benefits.” Specifically about ProductivityGoal, Carmichael says, “ProductivityGoal offers a variety of expert advice, news, tips, resources, and opinions on various business-to-business topics.”

We’re honored that ProductivityGoal has been included in such a comprehensive and quality list of productivity blogs. Our congratulations go to Alfa Mercado for doing such a wonderful job bringing productivity advice and instruction to the business world and to our network.

Supreme Court’s New Ruling on Second Amendment’s Right to Bear Arms a Major Boon to Gunmakers and the NRA

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:24:52 -0700

Today the Supreme Court ruled to support and conclusively interpret and define the US Constitution’s Second Amendment’s right of regular individual US citizens to own a gun and keep the gun at home for self-defense. “The basic issue for the justices was whether the amendment protects an individual's right to own guns no matter what, or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia.” It was decided that Americans can indeed own and keep guns in their homes… and gunmakers such as Beretta and Glock breath a major sigh of relief.

Think of the negative impact on gun manufacturers if the Supreme Court had decided the opposite. Imagine if you have been building water beds for 65 years, you had become a specialist in water beds, and then one day it became illegal for the vast majority of Americans to not only buy but own a water bed. How would your business survive?

Sure, you might be able to switch to building regular beds, but your expertise and your experience—all your know-how of 65 years—is in water beds. The transition would be extremely difficult, and most likely utterly prohibitive. Thus it is that gunmakers like Glock in particular, who specialize in handguns, are surely relieved at today’s Supreme Court ruling that will abolish such handgun bans as Washington DC’s current handgun ban.

Press Release - Know More Media is Sponsor and Media Partner of Blogworld & New Media Expo 2008 in Las Vegas, Sep 20-21

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:02:51 -0700

We distributed a press release today announcing our sponsorship of this year's Blogworld & New Media Expo 2008. Please read the full press release below, or go to its direct link on PRWeb.

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The business blog network, Know More Media, has become a media partner and sponsor of the Blogworld & New Media Expo 2008 in Las Vegas, Sep 20-21.

Orange County, CA (PRWEB) June 26, 2008 – Know More Media, an online publisher of business content, and one of the world’s leading business blog networks, has become a media partner and sponsor of the second annual Blogworld & New Media Expo being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Sep 20-21, 2008. Know More Media’s business blogs provide real-time news, information, and analysis on a variety of business topics, authored by topical experts who are authorities in their respective business-related fields. The Blogworld Expo is the world’s largest industry-wide tradeshow, conference, and media event that is dedicated to the blogging industry and new media.

“We were proud to sponsor Blogworld at its inaugural event in 2007, and we are thrilled to be involved as a sponsor again in 2008,” said Hal Halladay, CEO of Know More Media. “As a media partner, we are advertising and promoting the Blogworld Expo across our entire network of over 100 business-related blogs.”

Wimbledon: Branding the Championship in Excellence

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:42:21 -0700

Wimbledon 2008 began today at the All English Lawn Tennis and Croquet club in Wimbledon, London, England. The event is one of four world Grand Slam tournaments, the others held in Australia, France, and the US respectively. While so often the focus is on the championships to be won and/or defended, major sporting events like Wimbledon are big business with Wimbledon being one of the world's foremost brands in sports.

While the Brits may not have had a champion for several decades, according to The Guardian the marketing of the Wimbledon Championship is a champion effort of its own. With licensing deals with more than 40 companies both global and domestic and a new Centre Court Shoppe selling Wimbledon branded merchandise, generated a surplus upwards of £26m that go back into the coffer of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), which has exclusive rights to host the championship.

While merchandising is very important for the marketing and branding of the Wimbledon games, Roger McCowen, marketing director at the All-England club, says: "Merchandising is very small in the context of the income from our TV rights and our big official suppliers, but the difference is in the geographical reach, the 52-week awareness, the brand extension."

The LTA has deals with BBC, NBC, ESPN and other international networks for exclusive coverage of the tornement, as well as broadcasting online and to mobile phones as well. When it comes to awareness and branding, the Lawn Tennis Association has the bases covered and is a global marketing and branding success.

Freedom Writers at Know More Media Redux: Filming the Documentary

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:14:27 -0700

Even before we had a chance to tell our own stories, others were telling it for us. Everyone from the LA Times, to the Press-Telegram, to Prime Time Live and Paramount Pictures has taken a shot at interpreting and telling the Freedom Writers story, often in ways simultaniously inspiring and slanted. Long ago, we made up our minds that we would work to control the message in some way, thinking a documentary would be the best way to do so.

We have overcome this initial naïveté to understand that even a documentary must frame the story being told. However we were at least able to choose who told this story and have, for the last year, been moving forward with our documentary project with Danny Anker – the award winning documentarian – as the creative visionary and director.

Currently the film is in the post production and editing stages. The crew is also collecting footage for the epilogue which will focus on where the Freedom Writers are now. The story after the story, so to speak. To wit, on Wednesday the documentary crew traveled to Know More Media’s Southern California headquarters to film Dan, Hal and myself in action.

US Open Championship 2008 at Torrey Pines is Another Business Juggernaut and Pro Athletes get their Big Money Share

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:22:06 -0700

The US Open Championship 2008 tees off today at Torrey Pines golf course in San Diego, CA, and will run the next 4 days, weather permitting. And yes, the southern California weather will permit. The total prize purse for the players this year is set at about $7 million, with the winner’s share over $1.2 million, so the best golfers from around the world are gathering to walk the fairways.

And like mice to cheese, or bees to the flowers, or flies to… ahem, you know… media outlets, reporters, sponsors, advertisers, retailers—anyone having anything to do with the golf industry—are descending upon the 2008 US Open to carve out their share. I don’t blame them one bit, and it’s just another testament to me that the Great American Capitalism Machine is whirring along at high speed, tank full of $4.50 per gallon gas.

As a side note, my brother recently played the Torrey Pines course. He parred one of the holes and was very proud to shoot as well as many pros will score on that hole. And I’m proud of him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t paid as much as the pros are paid to play that hole. Au contraire.

Some people get riled up and angry about the amount of money professional athletes make. Not me, because I understand business and economics. The large sums of money involved in professional sports are direct results of the fan base. Sports and sports teams with a larger fan base attract more sponsors and advertisers, generate more ticket sales, demand more lucrative TV deals—all this money has got to go to someone. Who?

SmallBizMentor.com by Yvonne Russell is Named as One of 41 Best Blogs on Small Business

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:31:39 -0700

It wasn’t long ago I was announcing that Yvonne Russell’s SmallBizMentor.com was chosen as a Best Small Business Blog by AmericasBestCompanies.com, and now, in a rare feat of one-upping herself, Yvonne has landed a spot on yet another prestigious list – the 41 Absolute Best Blogs about Entrepreneurship and Small Business, compiled by Ben Jones at Ben-Means-Business.com.

Regarding the 41 Absolute Best Blogs, Jones says “I have decided to create what I like to think of as ‘The A-List’ of entrepreneurship and small business blogs. The blogs listed in ‘The List’ are solely there on the basis of their knowledge and content… for the most part the 'must-reads' are all there.” And regarding SmallBizMentor.com in particular, Jones remarks, “Clever topics, tons of information.”

I couldn’t agree more. It is an honor and a great accomplishment to be included on this list, especially in the company of such successful and notable business bloggers as Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki, and others. Congratulations to Yvonne Russell for creating and maintaining such an excellent blog on small business; we’re very proud!

New Apple iPhone 3G Announced: Faster and More Affordable

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:54:02 -0700

The smartphone industry was rocked by the debut of the Apple iPhone (NASDAQ: APPL) last year. To celebrate this success, Steve Jobs revealed the next generation of the iPhone today. The iPhone 3G is faster, more affordable, allows third party software and is available in more countries.

Since it's launch, the iPhone has captured a considerable portion of the smartphone market and stands as the most likely competitor to Research In Motion's (TSE:RIM) Blackberry. With the latest announcements from both companies coming so close together (RIM announced the Blackberry Bold less than a month ago), it is quite apparent that the two are well aware of the competition.

This is definitely a good thing for consumers as both companies seem intent on making innovative and usefull products. While RIM has been trying to meet the consumer affordability needs for some time now, the iPhone at under $200 with push email, a new EDGE network and all of the other sleekness and design aesthetic typical of Apple products, could be a serious threat to RIM's shrinking PDA market share.

Know More Media Review: Microsoft, American Airlines, Sex in the City, and More...

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:44:15 -0700

A lot has happened since the last Know More Media Review, which focused on the much publicized courtship between Microsoft and Yahoo. Microsoft still continues to be a topic of discussion on BestBizWare, with author Michael Jones examining exactly why he is making the switch from Microsoft to Apple. Jones makes not qualms about expressing his growing disappointment with Microsoft, its lack of transparency or its products.

Sex in the City came out last week and according to TheRunwayScoop, the pop phenomenon is all about the fashion. AdHurl questions whether or not Sex in the City is losing its sex appeal. I actually like the way the show evolved and the direction the movie took the series in. Everyone has to grow up at some point.

For all those who travel frequently, the news that American Airlines would be charging for the first checked bag was a big deal. Understandably, the airline industry is looking for ways to offset costs. The unfortunate part of this is that they are passing the costs on to their customers. CustomersAreAlways author Maria Palma asked if it was time for the industry to start looking at different models, while ManagersRealm author Gary Bourgeault pointed out Southwest Airlines' example of better cost management.