Business Blog: Hoover’s Business Insight Zone

If you follow the world of social media, you could be forgiven for thinking that the bloggers and the public-relations folk have descended into the same sort of East Coast / West Coast feud that turned Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls into martyrs at young ages.

The gauntlet thrown.

Earlier this week, Gina Trapani of the popular Lifehacker blog issued, shall we say, a beatdown to the p.r. firms that she thinks have been irresponsible in their pitches to her. She set up a wiki (find it here) that lists all of the firms — not just individual p.r. practitioners — that she has now blacklisted from her e-mail inbox.

This is just the latest salvo in a war between p.r. folks, who say they are just trying to do their jobs (but who are sometimes tone-deaf to the ways that the social media operate) and bloggers, who say that they can’t stand p.r. spam (but many of whom are just as open to a good p.r. pitch as any old-school magazine editor).

A voice of reason.

Into this chaos rides Mike Chapman of the Every Dot Connects blog, who hoses down the respective parties with a cold blast of common sense:

New Rules

” . . . No standard set of rules applies. For the millions of blogs now in existence, each is their own nation, with their own local laws and customs. If it sounds like too much work, then it’s probably not the work you should be doing.”

That sounds remarkably like common sense to me.

My own experience.

As I said in the comments to Mike’s post, this makes me think of two things:

1. In my bachelor days, I came to the not-very-groundbreaking insight that different women liked to be approached different ways. Some women didn’t want to be flirted with, ever, even if you were dating them. Others would flirt with you while they were holding hands with their boyfriend — not because they were unfaithful, but because they liked the playfulness of it. Some would only date you if they knew you very well; others might go out with you if they barely knew you. The point: PEOPLE VARY. [Wait, where have we heard this before?]
2. In the business world, I’ve had bosses who wanted airtight documentation to back up every decision, and I’ve had bosses who would never, ever read an e-mail that was more than six lines long. Which way is right? DEPENDS ON WHO YOU’RE DEALING WITH.

Honestly, you’d think it wouldn’t be this hard. Kudos to Mike for the note of sanity.

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More context:

• Brian Solis: Making Mistakes and Amends in Blogger and Media Relations
• David Parmet: PR vs The Bloggers part XXVII
• Yours truly: Hell hath no fury like an editor bombarded with p.r. spam.

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(Image of the Battle of Najera from Wikipedia.)

Folks, my apologies that posting has been a little thin here this week. Partly this is because I’m writing a series of very different posts that I hope will rock your world, change the way you look at absolutely everything, achieve lasting world peace, and find the cure for the common pop song.

But mostly, as my pal James Governor explains, it’s because I’ve been commenting up a storm on other blogs — more than 50 comments between Monday morning and now (Friday, just after lunch). Probably I won’t achieve my goal of 100 comments by the end of the week, but the process of making this many comments has been illuminating.

Why did I do this?

I’ll be honest with you and say that I started from selfish motives: I want more people — many more — to comment here. What I love most about blogging (even more than the unbridled self-expression!) is the opportunity to start conversations about topics that interest me. I’m endlessly fascinated to see where other people take the ideas presented here; it’s a wonderful way for me to think through issues from many angles and to learn things that I could not have learned any other way.

Along the way, though, I realized that the process of leaving comments makes me think better and writer better. It’s a challenge to contribute to a discussion in just a few sentences — but a challenge well worth taking up.

What have I learned?

1. It takes time to make a good comment, even for a fluent (read: hopelessly glib) writer like me. I respect the effort it takes.
2. Notwithstanding #1, I comment better when I worry about my comments less — or, in other words, when I just let ‘er rip. Yeah, I try to make sure that I’ve actually understood what the blogger is saying, and I try to say something that moves the conversation in an interesting direction. But it’s okay to move the conversation one millimeter in an interesting direction, or even just to tell the blogger that you understand or agree with what they’re saying.

Your take-home lesson:

Please never feel any pressure to comment here, because I know that it takes effort. But please also feel free to tell me what you’re thinking, even if it’s as simple as saying, “In my experience, it doesn’t work this way when you work in sales” or “I like this idea. I’m going to see if I can use it at work.” Anything like this is encouragement to a blogger like me who (a) wants to help but (b) sometimes wonders how much impact his words have.

It’s also an important corrective when I get too full of myself on a given topic. Or, you know, when I’m just plain wrong. So feel free to educate me.

Stay tuned . . .

Coming up later: some of the highlights — both blog posts and my reactions — from my week of heavy-duty commenting.

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(Picture of House of Commons debate courtesy of the UK Parliament.)

No I cannot forget where it is that I come from.
I cannot forget the people who love me.
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town,
And people let me be just what I want to be.

(John Mellencamp, “Small Town”)

Shawn Kirsch lives in a small town in North Dakota. He’s a 20-something technophile who cares deeply about the cutting edge of social media . . . but also about the rural community he calls home. In a series of recent blog posts, he’s been asking key questions about what’s next for his town and others like it. See, for example “Small Town USA, Would You Live There?” and “Is Small Town USA Ready For Expensive Gas?”*

Earlier today I asked my friends on Twitter (which is where I met Shawn) what I might be able to do for them, or how I might help them change the world for the better. Shawn’s tongue-in-cheek reply: “You can send me bunches of money to create many small businesses in my small town.”

Humor aside, Shawn’s acutely aware of the benefits that would come from having more small, entrepreneurial businesses in his town.

Since I don’t have bunches of money to send him, and since I’m not sure what the answer is for promoting entrepreneurship in small towns, I’ll put these questions out to the crowd:

What can small towns do
to boost their business communities?

What can businesses do to boost small towns?

I’m looking forward to your responses.

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* Yes, that second post kicks off by quoting a tweet that I made about the price of gasoline. So this post either completes the circle, or gets us into an ouroboros-like spiral from which we may never escape.

(Photo by anyjazz65.)

I wouldn’t have thought so . . . but then again the Weinstein brothers have made a lot more money in show business than I ever have. (A lot more.)

From Variety:

The Weinstein Co. will turn the Jim Henson series “Fraggle Rock” into a live-action musical feature. [ . . . ]

Just like the series, the film will be populated by a mix of human characters and Fraggle Rock puppets. TWC co-chair Harvey Weinstein, who has been steering his company more aggressively into the family film arena, made the marriage with Lisa Henson, who runs JHC with her co-CEO brother, Brian Henson. [ . . . ]

Pic will take the core characters Gobo, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and Red outside of their home in Fraggle Rock, where they interact with humans, which they think are aliens. The show premiered on HBO in 1983, ran five seasons and was broadcast in more than 80 countries. It posted strong sales recently when the first three seasons were released on DVD.

If you say so.

*scratches head*
*shrugs*

Again, this is why I’m in the business I’m in, instead of the producing-movies business.

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(Hat tip to EW; photo courtesy of The Jim Henson Company.)

Reasonable counter-question: “What’s a ‘Hilbert Problem’?”

Everyone say hello to Professor Hilbert.

In 1900, German mathematician David Hilbert — one of the world’s most eminent mathematicians at the time — gave a famous lecture to the International Congress of Mathematicians. In his talk and in a related article, he laid out 23 problems that he took to be fundamental for his discipline to address in the 20th Century.

What will be the ends toward which the spirit of future generations of mathematicians will tend? What methods, what new facts will the new century reveal in the vast and rich field of mathematical thought?

These problems, Hilbert thought, were some of the the biggest, most central challenges facing mathematicians. Cracking any of them would constitute a major achievement for any mathematician, and indeed for the world of mathematics as a whole. Hilbert’s grouping of the problems fixed them firmly on the agenda of the mathematical world, and in the hundred-plus years since then, many of the problems have indeed been resolved. (You can see a full table of them here.)

Now, I don’t know about you, but I confess that I am not lying awake nights trying to pierce the veil of the Riemann hypothesis. My mathematical endeavors played out after I finished freshman-level calculus (and please don’t ask me to perform any differential equations now). But I do wonder what the equivalent of Hilbert’s 23 problems are for the business world.

So, all that to ask this:

What are the fundamental problems
that business needs to crack
in the 21st Century?

I’m fascinated to know what you think the best brains of the business world — or even me and my little brain — should be working on.

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(Image via Wikipedia.)

Like a moron, I deleted a legitimate comment last night. Sheila Scarborough commented on my post about her post from the other day, but in my frenzy to delete spam comments, I hit the wrong button on her comment, too. And — so far, at least — I haven’t figured out any way to retrieve such mistakes in the new version of WordPress. C’est la vie, I guess. It’s my own fault for moderating comments while bleary-eyed.

Anyhoo, thinking about all this reminds me to put up one of those write-it-now-for-future-reference posts, on the topic of . . . Comment moderation.

Here’s the basic principle:

Be Nice.

That’s pretty much it.

You don’t have to agree with me or with other commenters, you don’t have to accept my basic premises, you don’t have to toe any particular line — except to be civil.

By the way, I hold myself to the same standard, so I hope you’ll never find me being catty or rude or tendentious in a comment. If I ever stumble in that regard, feel free to bring it to my attention.

One more key thing to keep in mind, even though it’s never been a problem to date: if push comes to shove, yours truly is the sole arbiter for determining which comments meet or violate the basic principle. Don’t fret, now — my standards are quite broad, I have a thick skin for criticism, and I relish debate. But, just so you know, this blog ain’t a democracy.

Okay, that’s all. Fire away — in this comment thread or any other!

Welcome to the May edition of the Hoover’s Index. The Hoover’s Index provides insight on which companies are being watched most closely by the sales, marketing, and business development professionals who make up a large part of Hoover’s audience. Each month, I offer comments on some of the most interesting stories and trends turned up by the unique ranking system of the Hoover’s Index.

Kinetic Concepts
Kinetic Concepts isn’t a household name, but its products could be a lifesaver if you find yourself in the hospital. The company makes several different categories of medical devices, most of which aid in wound care. Its vacuum assisted closure products create areas of negative pressure around wounds to help them heal faster. The company also makes specialized tables, beds, and wheelchairs to improve the care of patients who weigh between 300 and 1,000 pounds. Kinetic Concepts made the news in April when it agreed to buy LifeCell Corporation for $1.7 billion. LifeCell makes materials used for skin grafts in various types of reconstructive surgery and in some urologic and gynecological procedures. The idea behind the deal is for the combined company to expand its offerings of biosurgical products.

Manitowoc
If you’d like a frosty beverage to wash down your meal, Manitowoc would be glad to accommodate you. The company manufactures ice-making and beverage-dispensing equipment, as well as other refrigerating products used in foodservice settings. Befitting its origins a century ago as a shipbuilder, the company also makes construction cranes, and still operates shipyards that build, service, and repair commercial and military ships. Despite its long history of successful acquisitions, Manitowoc may now find itself in the role of jilted suitor. In April, the company agreed to acquire its UK-based foodservice rival Enodis plc for about $2 billion. (The two companies had also talked about a tie-up in the second half of 2006, but never came to terms.) Early in May, however, industrial conglomerate Illinois Tool Works trumped Manitowoc’s bid for Enodis with a competing offer of $2.3 billion.

First Solar
No doubt First Solar would love to become the first name in solar power. Instead of using standard polysilicon technology in its solar-power modules, the company uses a thin-film technology that it touts as cheaper than typical photovoltaic cells. To date First Solar has relied heavily on half a dozen utility customers in Germany, but that’s worked out fine, since Germany has been building out its solar infrastructure in a big way. The company increased sales ten-fold between 2004 and 2006, then nearly quadrupled them again in 2007 alone. This growth has been rapid enough that First Solar has added production plants in Germany and Malaysia to its original factory in Ohio. This spring’s record-breaking ascent for oil prices has made well-established solar players like First Solar into market darlings.

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Here, have some rant. My friend Sheila — a travel writer and a former Navy officer — whipped it up for you:

If you have nothing good to say about U.S. travel, come sit by me

I am disgusted.

I am a U.S. traveler with multiple transportation options, and most of them are awful.

. . .

I am not clueless about the current high price of fuel, so I understand why the airlines (except for Southwest, which actually planned for a fuel price increase) think they must nickel and dime passengers for every mangy pillow, blanket, sandwich, suitcase and inch of legroom, but I’d rather just pay for a somewhat higher-priced ticket and not be treated like a fee-ridden pest in coach.

I’m your customer, Mr. Airline.

. . .

Read it all. I thought Sheila’s comments on dubious anti-terrorism measures and on a lack of viable transportation alternatives were particularly apt.

At some point, whether because of lousy service or higher fuel prices (ergo higher ticket prices) or whatever, the airlines will have to change their ways. Or, as I fervently hope, one or two of the most far-sighted airlines will figure out a way to deliver better service — a better experience — to enough passengers that those companies will win outright in the marketplace.

Talk about your untapped market opportunities! Any airline that can offer better service all the way around — service that answers Sheila’s complaints — will be sitting on a gold mine.

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Previously in this vein:

• Runway congestion: the inescapable math.
• Clueless airlines: which verse of this song are we on now?
• Airline inanity follow-up: amen to Jeff Jarvis.
• Massive reality disconnect in the airline industry.
• Air travel is getting worse.

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(Photo by lunchtimemama.)

Is this a picture of the Department of Widgets and Doodads in your organization?

The picture actually displays an homage to the great cartoonist Rube Goldberg, pictured here with a couple of young volunteers while giving a talk in front of the drawing board.

Goldberg’s famous namesake drawings were hiliarious because the contraptions in them were elaborate and impractical beyond all reason. But I talk to plenty of people whose daily frustrations make them feel like their organizations are built along the same lines. (You can see more of Goldberg’s famous contraption drawings at the official Rube Goldberg site.)

The other day I polled the crowd about what to do with high-maintenance people, so now let’s broaden the focus:

How do you deal with the high-maintenance processes
in your organization?

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(Contraption photo by freshwater2006; Goldberg photo courtesy of Alan Light.)

As I write this, oil is trading at an eye-popping $123.39 per barrel on the NYMEX futures board. Part of the high price of oil stems from the low value of the dollar relative to other currencies — especially the euro — so the other day I pulled together some figures to see how much cheaper oil would be if it were priced in euros instead of dollars.

Inputs:

• Price of oil in dollars, taken from the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy.
• Exchange rate, dollars to euros, taken from Exchange-Rates.org.

Timeframe:

• 5 November 2007 through 29 April 2008 (i.e. Tuesday of last week).

Results (greenbacks in green, euros in blue):

My simple-Simon conclusions:

• The exchange-rate divergence has meant more and more over the past couple of months.
• Even when priced in euros, oil is still plenty expensive.

Other items potentially of interest in this vein:

• Statistics Matter: Oil, Dollars, Euros & Gold — This one includes a chart scanned from the Wall Street Journal earlier this year.
• Crude Oil Prices, Dollars vs. Euros: Is There a Difference? – I used this post’s sources in formulating my own chart.
• U.S. gas: So cheap it hurts: “Relatively low taxes have kept pump prices far below most other developed nations, which some say is precisely why the current runup is so painful.” — This article explains why “the U.S. is actually one of the cheaper places to fill up in the world” and digs into the effect of government policy on gasoline prices.

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