3/30/2008

Play Ball

The 2008 Baseball Season is underway ...

I'm a huge sports fan - but baseball has always been a fantasy-only joy of mine (I've been playing fantasy baseball for probably 7 years)

Living in NYC, I have often said that I casually root for both the Yankees and Mets, as New York City undoubtedly has an added vibe and excitement when the Yankees and/or Mets are in the play-offs. While I will continue to hope that both teams make the play-offs, I'm going to try and root (and be a fan) of The New York Mets this year... I was a huge Mets fan as a kid in 1986 - but when I moved to Florida - I spent 9 years without a local professional baseball team. The Marlins came along in 1995, but anyone who knows anything about the Marlins knows that it's almost impossible to truly be "a fan" of the Marlins...

So - I'm not going to pretend like I'm a long-time fan ... I'm just going to try and have non-fantasy interest in baseball. I have tried in the past - but without any success... I'm hoping this year is different. I believe in Willie Randolph - I really like David Wright's demeanor and overall game...So...Let's go Mets!

3/17/2008

Henry Blodget's Media Blog Post

In case you're just meeting me .... I'm pro-online media and especially pro-Google. This isn't to say I'm anti-offline media at all ... I consume more television programming that most Nielsen homes (which is a stupid metric) ... Anyway, I stumbled upon an intriguing blog post Henry Blodget.

Henry's past is pseudo relevant in that his original career of internet bubble-era stock analyst came to a crashing halt thanks to one Mr. Elliot Spitzer...

Anyhow - Henry compared 17 major public media companies data and segmented 2007 yearly figures and growth rates. Here 's a condensed version of the top-line stats - which I found interesting - again directly from Henry's blog:
  • Total US ad revenue across all 17 companies grew 9% from 2006 to 2007, from $53 billion to $58 billion
    • Online ad revenue grew 28%, from $14 billion to $18 billion.
    • Offline grew only 3%, from $39.5 billion to 40.6 billion.
  • Online ad revenue grew by $4 billion.
  • Offline ad revenue--in all other media--grew by $1 billion.

So advertising revenue is flowing online at a frantic rate. That's the whole story? No. Let's look at how that online revenue breaks down.

  • Online ad revenue at Google grew 44%, or $2.7 billion.
  • Online ad revenue at Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL grew only 15%, or $1.3 billion.
  • Google captured 2X as much revenue as its closest three competitors combined.

Another fun stat:

  • The year-over-year growth of revenue on Google.com (US)--approximately $2 billion--was more than twice as much the growth of ad revenue in all of the offline media companies in this sample combined. This is such an amazing fact that it bears repeating: A single media property, Google.com (US), grew by $2 billion. All the offline media properties owned by the 13 offline media companies above, meanwhile--all of them--grew by about $1 billion.

3/14/2008

Elliot Spitzer Drama

The Elliot Spitzer saga has dominated news headlines all week... Truthfully, the only way this at all effects my life (even as a NYC resident), is in the aspect of being a part of my daily conversations with people. As a fairly opinionated person -- it's rare that I'm this passive about such a public controversy... (maybe I'm evolving -- because I could care less about the whole Roger Clemens fiasco as well) Anyhow - as there is not a true "side" to be on within the story -- I feel like the event sparks a slew of questions (and not many answers) ... Here are the questions I have....
  • Would this be a big story if Elliot Spitzer wasn't married with 3 children (all girls)?
  • Has this story proved that any politician who's passionate about very specific topics - is - in fact -- actually guilty of those crimes in his past?
  • Why is prostitution illegal? (My Grandpa Herman was a big advocate of legalizing prostitution...)
  • Do you think the Mayflower hotel is happy about the millions of dollars of free PR (not to mention the ever-lasting allure for customers) or are they annoyed that anyone who stays there from now on will expect expensive hookers to be hanging out in their lobby?
  • Is it possible that the escort was a big part of the leak? I mean -- After receiving over 5 million visits to her myspace page -- she suddenly has her "new single" for sale....
  • Was McGrevers wifes book really due out this week -- or did her smart publishers push the date up? Genius either way!
  • Apparently Spitzer was a "super-delegate" ... What happens now?? (Not knowing much about the political process -- I do understand that super-delegates are very important given the tight democratic primary race)...
  • When the escort describes her client as "easy" ... what does that signify?? (Of the $1,000 an hour of service... $16 or so was spent on the actual sex...?)
  • What's the over/under on when the story hype will die down in the press? I'm hoping 2 weeks, but my gut says June...
  • And the most obvious question .... What was he thinking????
I'm sure I have more questions -- but those are the first to come to mind... While I truly don't care about elected officials personal lives (yes - I didn't care in 1998 when Bill Clinton was under the fire storm)... I understand why it's newsworthy ... The issue I have - is that Republicans and Democrats alike -- now spend less time on what THEY SHOULD and more time with tabloid airtime and true public politicking...

3/09/2008

An Interesting Story I Heard

At a conference I was at last week, a "blog expert" said that end-users typically gravitate to one of two types of blog posts: Stories or Lists.

So - I thought I'd try out the hypothesis on my own blog with an interesting story I was told earlier this week by an old acquaintance that I ran into at the gym...(I've taken very minor liberties on some details - like what was "really" going through the main characters mind - but the core is completely true) Here goes...

A guy is packing for a family trip to Jamaica. He contemplates packing his video camera into his carry-on, but remembers what a pain in the ass security at the airport is -- so he decides to pack the camera (and related accessories like blank tapes) in his checked luggage...

When he gets to his hotel room - he opens his luggage and notices neither his video camera nor its' accessories are included in the contents of the baggage. The suitcase is in good condition and it doesn't appear that someone stole anything... Did he forget to pack it? Did he leave it on the dresser?...
During the trip - he's convinced he just had a brain-fart and forgot it.

That's the beauty of vacation...you can leave any worries behind - especially when going to the beach and having a couple of beers is the only thing you have on you "to do list" for the day.

Reality sets in, however, when he returns home and finds that his video camera is still missing. What is he to do? It's not like the video camera is a family heir-loom and of unaffordable value (we'll call it $250)... So... he decides to do what most of us would -- buy a new one....

Given the fact that he's already in the hole a few hundred bucks - he decides to try and save some money by going on eBay... He notices that there is are a couple of auctions ending in the next day or so for the same model camera as the one he used to have. So - he bids on the one ending soonest. Turns out -- he loses by $1... (Talk about a slap in the face -- losing your camera is really bad -- and losing an eBay auction isn't really that big of a deal -- but losing the auction by 100 pennies is a pseudo jab to the kidneys...)

Frustrated - he decides he's determined to win the next auction -- and does... Him and the seller email details to each other - and he expects to get the camera in 5-7 days. It arrives in 4 days in the condition described -- a positive eBay experience!

When he opens the video camera - he notices there is a tape inside. Scary to think of what is on someone else's video camera...but c'mon...who's NOT going to watch it???

He does - and has a pit in his stomach from the content....It's a tape of HIS son and daughter playing! He just bought back his stolen video camera from eBay...

What is he supposed to do?? On one hand - he feels outraged that his personal property was stolen by some airline or TSA worker - and then re-sold for a substantial profit on eBay (so - yes - this thief profited TWICE by the same innocent guy). On the other hand - the thief knows his name and address... If he is to report it (and somehow PROVE it) - and the person gets fired and brought on charges -- is it really worth the extra $150 for that anguish?? He could write some negative feedback on ebay -- but then what if he wants to get the police involved... He should waste his chances...

To be honest -- I don't know what he's decided to do. I got the sense that he was going to leave it alone... He was going to chalk up the $150 as the price of one hell of a story to tell people for the rest of his life....(oh - and I just stole it from him.... looks like the guy is just the perfect subject for theft)

3/03/2008

Are hotels the new airlines?

It's been heavily documented that the airline industry is fully "nickel-and-diming" it's customers ... Most airlines don't include food in their prices - but they make buying food available for additional purchase... They've taken away magazines, pillows, blankets, and other amenities that were industry standards for a very long time ... They've done this to try and gain additional revenue in non-traditional ways ... Buying premium movies, upgrading to business class, even paying more for window seats vs. middle seats has become a trend...

Well - on Friday - when I checked into my hotel.... They told me there was a $3 per day "maid service fee" which was in place "for my convenience" so I didn't have to leave a tip when I left...

First of all - I very rarely left a considerable tip for the maid. I was (and actually still am) convinced that a small portion of the hundreds of dollars I pay per night INCLUDE the convenience of someone straightening up while I'm gone... Am I crazy?

As is -- hotels pillage customers on mini-bar items ($8 for a bottle of water?), in-room entertainment ($14 for movies - which is more than in theatres in NYC), and Internet access...

Like the airline industry, unfortunately... one hotel chain follows everyone else ... So - I won't be surprised to see the "maid service daily fee" as a standard in a couple of years...

While it may represent an opportunity for some chains to differentiate themselves -- I don't see a white knight riding in anytime soon...