via nytimes.com
Monday, July 11, 2011
Analyst: Even Dollar Stores Struggling In ‘Obama Depression’ « CBS Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — More stores across the U.S. that offer deeply-discounted products are seeing their sales decline after years of growth amid America’s “Great Recession” — and one analyst said on Monday it’s another sign of even deeper downturn.
While the demand at stores like the 99-Cent Store or Dollar Tree is still relatively high, the biggest chains in the nation have fallen short of Wall Street’s expectations for several months, a trend that may prove even more ominous for the economy at large.
“I think what’s going on in those stores is that we are in a depression for 80 percent of Americans,” top retail analyst Howard Davidowitz told KNX 1070.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
5 Reasons Why Google’s Upcoming Nexus 4G AT&T Could Beat iPhone 5 - International Business Times
Apple may release its much-awaited iPhone 5 in September which will be before Google Nexus 4G which is expected around Thanksgiving this year, but the Cupertino-based company will still face the heat from the "Absolute Monster" among smartphones.
via ibtimes.com
Elgan: How Google+ ends social networking fatigue - Computerworld
Computerworld - Social networking fatigue: You've got it, and I've got it. Everyone's overwhelmed by the sheer number of social sites the industry keep churning out.
I was already struggling to stay active on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Google Buzz, Google Reader and several other social sites.
As new media come online, the old ones never go away. I keep up with email, of course, and publish an email newsletter. I use AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), and Google Talk for quick messaging, and also text on my iPhone like a Dachshund on crack.
I used to blog on Google's Blogger platform, then I switched to Posterous when that was the hot new service, only to leave it for Tumblr when that became Flavor of the Month.
- Visual tour: 10 Google+ tips for beginners
- Elgan: How Google+ ends social networking fatigue
- Privacy experts praise Google+ rollout so far
- Google: Business version of Google+ is coming
- Hands-on: Facebook Video Calling vs. Google+ Hangout
- Google+ invites re-open to double user base
- Google vs. Facebook by the numbers
- Google dealing with privacy bugs in Google+
- What would you pay for a Google+ invite?
- Google+ invites shut down after 'insane demand'
I won't even try to list all the services I embraced, then quit.
When Google+ came along, I had the same initial reaction as you probably did: "What, another one?"
Then it hit me: Google+ isn't adding to the problem. Google+ can be the solution to social networking fatigue.
Just don't call it a social network
Everybody calls Google+ a "social network." Everyone, that is, except Google.
In the company's announcement, you won't find the phrase anywhere. They instead use another "S" word: "sharing." And "sharing" is just a warm-and-fuzzy way to say "communication."
By not labeling Google+ as a "social network," Google has a point. Google+ is no more a social network than it is any number of other online communications media. Google+ is also an email service, blogging platform, micro-blogging site, news feed, video conferencing system, chat service, location-based social network and more. So why call it a "social network"?
Here's a better question: Why overwhelm yourself with a dozen services when you can consolidate them all into one? For most people, Google+ can replace every single medium of online communication. The benefit is clear: One site, one log-in, one feed is better than many for ending social networking fatigue.
Here's my list of all the social services that Google+ can replace. I'll tell you what you can replace, what you need to know about replacing other media and why you should replace them all.
Social networking
Yes, Google+ is a great replacement for Facebook. (See my column from last week, "Declare independence... from Facebook!")
Google+ is the first email replacement I've ever seen that's actually better than email. Some two years ago, I wrote a column in this space headlined "How to kill email (before it kills you)." Back then, my solution was to force all your communication through Twitter, Facebook and Skype instead of email and thereby get rid of spam, excessive chatter and needless attachments. Don't look now, but Google+ is essentially Twitter, Facebook and Skype, and is a much better replacement for email.
Friday, July 8, 2011
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