User-created content - who is responsible?
Subway is suing Quiznos over an advertising campaign that was centered on user-generated content. In the campaign, Quiznos ran a contest asking consumers to create videos showing Quiznos sandwiches as superior to Subway sandwiches. Quiznos posted the videos on meatnomeat.com (no longer available) and awarded the winning video with a $10,000 prize. Subway claims that Quiznos is liable for the false and derogatory statements about the Subway brand in the user-created videos. The Quiznos defense rests in part on the Communications Decency Act, which protects providers of interactive computer services from responsibility for user content on their sites - a protection normally applied to sites such as aol.com.
The case is scheduled to be heard in 2009. The decision could prove interesting for marketers that have found user-generated content to be an effective and inexpensive approach to advertising their brand.
This NY Times article discusses the case and links to the winning video.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/business/media/29adco.html?pagewanted=1&ref=business
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Wikis and blogs in the business classroom
"Teaching Business in a Web 2.0 World" in the January/February 2008 issue of BizEd looks at using wikis (and blogs and social networking sites, to a lesser extent) in the Entrepreneurship classes at the University of Arizona. Wikis provides students with a tool to work collaboratively on large class projects with other team members, professors, and mentors in the business community. One class is using Wikii Spaces software and Google office applications; another class is using PBWiki and Microsoft Office appliations. Web 2.0 technologies such as wikis are said to be important tools that business students must learn to be prepared for the workforce and a knowledge-driven economy.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=28549749&site=ehost-live
In the same issue of BizEd, a brief article "Bringing Virtual Worlds to Business School" introduces an initiative at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University to explore the use of ProtoSphere, a virtual world software tool of ProtonMedia. According to Fuqua's Associate Dean for Information Technology, "the school hopes to learn not just how the software can be used for education, but also how virtual worlds and social networks will affect business interactions."
(In the world of Web 2.0 tools, the use of virtual world software (such as Second Life) is much more in the exploratory stages....)
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=28549751&site=ehost-live
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=28549749&site=ehost-live
In the same issue of BizEd, a brief article "Bringing Virtual Worlds to Business School" introduces an initiative at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University to explore the use of ProtoSphere, a virtual world software tool of ProtonMedia. According to Fuqua's Associate Dean for Information Technology, "the school hopes to learn not just how the software can be used for education, but also how virtual worlds and social networks will affect business interactions."
(In the world of Web 2.0 tools, the use of virtual world software (such as Second Life) is much more in the exploratory stages....)
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=28549751&site=ehost-live
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Career guides.... It's never too early (or too late)...
Looking for a good job?
Career planning most likely occupies a good part of your time, energy, and efforts as a student at USFSP - directly or indirectly.
"Vault Guide" and "WetFeet" are two important career planning resources that may help in the process. Both of these companies offer a variety of job resources and services - for both job seekers and recruiters - and include the basics for company, career, and industry research.
Many of the Vault Guide and WetFeet publications are available as e-books through the USFSP library. From the library catalog, type in either vault guide or wetfeet to see a list of the titles available. Follow the links to open and read an e-book (from NetLibrary - view only, no downloading).
A sample of the 13 or so Vault Guide titles in our e-collection include: "Vault.com career guide to marketing & brand management"; "Vault.com guide to the case interview"; and "Vault guide to the top 50 finance employers". We also have the "Vault guide to top internships" in print format in the library in the first floor reference collection (LC1072.I58V38 2005 ). Also try the Vault.com web site to see the full range of their resources and services, including message boards, salary information, and sample resumes and cover letters (some available for free.)
A sample of the 40 or so Wetfeet titles in our e-collection include: "The WetFeet insider guide to industries and careers for undergrads"; "The WetFeet insider guide to careers in marketing and market research"; and "The WetFeet insider guide to careers in human resources". Take a look at their web site to see some of the other resources they offer both job seekers and employers (much is for subscribers$).
To find other books available in the USFSP collection, try searching the catalog using some of the following subject headings: vocational guidance; career development; job hunting....
And don't forget the Career Center on campus.... or ask a librarian...
Career planning most likely occupies a good part of your time, energy, and efforts as a student at USFSP - directly or indirectly.
"Vault Guide" and "WetFeet" are two important career planning resources that may help in the process. Both of these companies offer a variety of job resources and services - for both job seekers and recruiters - and include the basics for company, career, and industry research.
Many of the Vault Guide and WetFeet publications are available as e-books through the USFSP library. From the library catalog, type in either vault guide or wetfeet to see a list of the titles available. Follow the links to open and read an e-book (from NetLibrary - view only, no downloading).
A sample of the 13 or so Vault Guide titles in our e-collection include: "Vault.com career guide to marketing & brand management"; "Vault.com guide to the case interview"; and "Vault guide to the top 50 finance employers". We also have the "Vault guide to top internships" in print format in the library in the first floor reference collection (LC1072.I58V38 2005 ). Also try the Vault.com web site to see the full range of their resources and services, including message boards, salary information, and sample resumes and cover letters (some available for free.)
A sample of the 40 or so Wetfeet titles in our e-collection include: "The WetFeet insider guide to industries and careers for undergrads"; "The WetFeet insider guide to careers in marketing and market research"; and "The WetFeet insider guide to careers in human resources". Take a look at their web site to see some of the other resources they offer both job seekers and employers (much is for subscribers$).
To find other books available in the USFSP collection, try searching the catalog using some of the following subject headings: vocational guidance; career development; job hunting....
And don't forget the Career Center on campus.... or ask a librarian...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Investment reports...
Investment reports (or broker reports) can be great resources when conducting company or industry research. The difficulty is often in locating these reports. Over the years, the options have diminished, particularly for the academic market. At USFSP, we have a few options:
Investext Plus: Investext is perhaps the largest single source for investment reports. This database is focused exclusively on investment reports.
Business and Company Resource Center (BCRC). This is a general business database with content from a variety of sources. Until very recently, the investment reports available through BCRC were a subset of the reports contained in Investext Plus. However, BCRC now has a new contract for investment reports through "Reuters Research on Demand" (formerly Multex) -- a collection of reports currently from about 40 investment bankers, brokers, and independent research providers.
For any given company that you are researching, the reports available through Reuters on BCRC will differ from those available in Investext Plus - it's worth checking both.
Limited selections of investment reports are also available through other business databases to which we have access. For example, in LexisNexis, you can access a collection of "company analyst reports", which includes Investext reports as well as reports from Nelson's and Zacks.
Investext Plus: Investext is perhaps the largest single source for investment reports. This database is focused exclusively on investment reports.
Business and Company Resource Center (BCRC). This is a general business database with content from a variety of sources. Until very recently, the investment reports available through BCRC were a subset of the reports contained in Investext Plus. However, BCRC now has a new contract for investment reports through "Reuters Research on Demand" (formerly Multex) -- a collection of reports currently from about 40 investment bankers, brokers, and independent research providers.
For any given company that you are researching, the reports available through Reuters on BCRC will differ from those available in Investext Plus - it's worth checking both.
Limited selections of investment reports are also available through other business databases to which we have access. For example, in LexisNexis, you can access a collection of "company analyst reports", which includes Investext reports as well as reports from Nelson's and Zacks.
Monday, January 7, 2008
"Wikia search" and "Big Think"
From today's NY Times, two new online products/tools to watch:
Wikiasearch - from Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia and wikia.com, this new search engine will use the same voluntary contribution model of Wikipedia to design a Web search engine. The search engine is an open source project and users will be encouraged to rank search results and provide feedback to refine the engine. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/technology/07wiki.html)
Big Think - from a Harvard graduate (Peter Hopkins) and former Harvard president Lawrence Summers, Big Think is billed as “a YouTube for ideas”. The Web site "mixes interviews with public intellectuals from a variety of fields, from politics, to law to business, and allows users to engage in debates on issues like global warming and the two-party system. It plans to add new features as it goes along, including a Facebook-like application for social networking..." (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/technology/07summers.html?ref=business)
Both of these new Web-based services capitalize on the increasingly collaborative nature of activity on the Web...
Wikiasearch - from Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia and wikia.com, this new search engine will use the same voluntary contribution model of Wikipedia to design a Web search engine. The search engine is an open source project and users will be encouraged to rank search results and provide feedback to refine the engine. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/technology/07wiki.html)
Big Think - from a Harvard graduate (Peter Hopkins) and former Harvard president Lawrence Summers, Big Think is billed as “a YouTube for ideas”. The Web site "mixes interviews with public intellectuals from a variety of fields, from politics, to law to business, and allows users to engage in debates on issues like global warming and the two-party system. It plans to add new features as it goes along, including a Facebook-like application for social networking..." (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/technology/07summers.html?ref=business)
Both of these new Web-based services capitalize on the increasingly collaborative nature of activity on the Web...
2007 management topics of interest..
With the New Year comes a flurry of rankings and "best of" lists for the year completed. This list from HBS Working Knowledge, a Harvard Business School management newsletter, looks at the newsletters' 20 most popular stories from 2007. Topics of interest include career advancement, negotiation, leadership, team performance, Wikipedia, itunes, global warming, and innovation. These types of lists can provide a quick way to bring yourself up-to-speed on topics of interest to business leaders.
At the end of the list is the link to sign-up for the weekly email newsletter from HBS.
At the end of the list is the link to sign-up for the weekly email newsletter from HBS.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Facebook groups for business research...
While you may use Facebook for keeping in touch with friends, there are also some Facebook groups that may be useful for keeping current with business and marketing trends. For example, Research 2.0 is a group that discusses the use of blogs, online communities and other tools for marketing research. The group was founded by Ray Poynter of the The Future Place, a UK market research firm. Once you've looked at this group, you may see other "related groups" that are of interest....
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