New Blogger On The Block

Say hello to my friend Phil Habib, proprietor of Phoenix AZ-based Iron City Barbell Club, Llc and Shape Of Success Fitness.

Putting In Effort: Three Cheers And A Tiger For Me

Exposure! Every businessman's (and woman's) favorite word. I'd be lying if I said I had no commercial interest in this blog. I run two fitness companies and I want to drive traffic (and sales) to both of them. Don't worry, I'm not going to be too overbearing about it. Why two companies? Isn't that a big pain in the butt? Well, it makes things a little more complicated, but in the long run it's a better idea. Each company serves a vastly different costomer base and is branded accordingly; one company trying to be all things to all people is rarely a good idea.

Phil's a good dude, and knows a thing or two about both physical fitness and business.

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Does ANYONE Think That Microhoo! Is A Good Idea?

I have yet to find anyone amongst the commentariat and the chattering classes who thinks so. If you have, drop a link in the comments section below and enlighten us all.

So far, the sheer mass of opinion, both informed and uninformed is that this is a bad move. The more I ponder it, the more it looks like Microsoft is trying to fight the last war (for search and ad supremacy), instead of working on something new, hot, and game changing.

As I said elsewhere, the Microsoft/Yahoo! deal was basically a great opportunity for those individual and institutional bargain hunters who snarfed up YHOO stock on the cheap when it was getting drubbed two weeks ago. That's great and all (and bully for you if you did it), but it's no sign of long term growth or strategic value.

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Surfing the Blogosphere: Say Hello To Name Wire

If you're kind of a nerd for issues relating to business law (as I am), you might enjoy reading Name Wire: The Product Naming Blog, which reports on news and issues in the realm of corporate naming and branding. I discovered Name Wire when they commented on my comment (how meta-media is that?) about Matsushita/Panasonic's official name change.

I began browsing their news posts, and I'm hooked.

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Lululemon Assumes The Downward Dog

Some people have been bullish on yoga apparel maker Lululemon for some time. Only now other people are noticing too.

Yahoo!: Lululemon shares fall back to earth after much-hyped initial public offering

VANCOUVER - After starting off like a rocket, shares of yoga-wear retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc. (TSX:LLL) have returned to earth in recent weeks trading near where the stock was in the days after its much-hyped initial public offering.
And this week, the market will be watching carefully as the lock up period for Lululemon's investors expires on Jan. 23 following company's initial public offering in July and the number of shares eligible to trade is set to grow significantly.

For a small player, trying to short the hysteria wouldn't have been a sound move. As John Maynard Keynes said, “The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.” Regardless, the position of saying out loud "They're just yoga pants, for chrissakes. a 300 P/E is retarded!" has paid a huge return of smug self-satisfaction.

No one should be surprised to see insiders sell this week, since Lululemon's IPO was a payout for the original principals plain and simple, and there's nothing wrong with that per se. Everyone's gotta get paid. Just don't expect that yoga pants are going to be the second coming of Google.

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This Just In: Nobody likes the RIAA

My alternate title for this post was going to be "HEY, HEY, RIAA! HOW MANY KIDS DID YOU SUE TODAY!?"

But I thought that younger readers might not get the reference.

My point (and I did have one) is that in a cursory sweep through the blogosphere I couldn't find a single blog post defending the RIAA's terror campaign of suing peons for illegal filesharing.

A wonderfully thoughtful and cogent example of the vox populi against them is this one:

Just a Girl in short shorts talking about whatever: Fuck the RIAA

“This is what can happen if you don’t settle,” RIAA asshole attorney Richard Gabriel told reporters,. “I think we have sent a message we are willing to go to trial.”

But, I am venturing to guess there was as much music being shared last night as there was prior to the verdict. Take a look here.

I get tired of beating this horse, but I never get tired of the outrage I feel at the music industry (overall, though there are exceptions that get it) and it's inability to face the music.

By the way, allow me to draw your attention to the great point made here last week by regular reader/commenter Charles Farley:

I'm not sure I understand the profiling model the RIAA uses. Sure, they want to make examples out of common folk by extorting settlements out of them. But why do they file suit against single mothers, the elderly and the developmentally disabled?

These are the folks who are the "least example worthy" IMHO. They are folks who either had relatives or kids illegally download the best of Fred Durst or Fergie...and lo and behold, the 5 figure lawsuit shows up.

Where is the vetting of the potential plaintifs? The real criminals most likely the children of white upper middle class or well to do parents. They can afford the bandwith, computers and iPods needed to download the gigabytes of drek they do.

Why haven't people who have the money to mount a serious defense ever sued? My guess is they are waiting to get precident set (which they just have), get it affirmed a few times and then move their sites up the income chain.

Why aren't they suing the parents who are investment bankers and criminal litigators?

The RIAA should go big or go home.

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