Vettel leads the pack during the 2012 US Grand Prix

Formula One returned to the US this weekend after a 5 year hiatus. Engadget’s Richard Lawler writes about the possibility of HD camera’s on-board the cars. As the world’s most technologically advanced sport, I think it should be a no-brainer; it is the next logical step in regards to the sport’s broadcasting capabilities.

When millions are spent per week perfecting the front wing to give just tenths of a second on track, it should not be an issue to upgrade from standard definition on-board. In comparison to other broadcast sports, F1 has advanced quite slowly. Live broadcasts were upgraded to HD just last season. The last big change to broadcast enabled on-board footage to continue to be uninterrupted through the tunnel section of the Monaco Grand Prix; that was around the time I was born! Most of this development is largely due to the size and weight of the new technology but they are rapidly becoming smaller and lighter.

As F1 gains more popularity it will be crucial to cater to the viewer’s experience. It is a muti-billion dollar business that cannot afford to lose any viewer interest. In order to keep up with the technological world, It wouldn’t be a surprise that live Interactive 3D footage become available in the near future.

PS. KImi for 2013 World Champion!

In keeping with their company philosophy, TOTO USA has teamed up with UPS to further reduce the environmental impact. TOTO designs and manufactures innovative and sustainable water fixtures like faucets and rain showers. To get a product to your door, a lot of energy has to go into transporting it. In order to remove this carbon footprint, UPS has applied TOTO’s sustainable philosophy by having a completely environmentally neutral delivery process. UPS achieves this by calculating a delivery’s environmental impact and purchases enough offsets to reduce it to zero.

I think its great that TOTO and UPS are doing this. It shows great integrity in regards to keeping with company core values and philosophies. These actions are even more respectable especially when there are no direct cost reduction or revenue increase from it. However, as the western world becomes more aware of “green” practices, initiatives like this may gain popularity over cheaper non “green” services and products.

Currently, few businesses have a carbon neutral supply chain purely because of the cost aspect. TOTO and UPS are leading the way to a future where only supply chains of this kind are accepted. Hopefully, that future is not too far away.

Its another term for President Obama!

During the campaign, we hear so much about raising taxes, tax breaks and redistribution of taxes but what effect does that have? The US debt deficit in 2012 alone is already over 1.1 trillion dollars ($1,100,000,000,000!). If Obama were able to get every tax increase he called for during his campaign, he would only generate an additional $82 billion in tax revenue per year.

If increasing taxes barely makes a dent, and no signs of slowing in government spending, there is not much anyone can do to help, even when you’re the president.

With the total US debt well over $16 trillion, it has been accepted to be mathematically impossible to pay it off. When printing more money or reducing spending can no longer work the only thing the US can do is continue to borrow. With countries like China and Japan owning much of the debt, it will be interestingly scary to see what will happen if/ when the US defaults.

Hopefully it will not be our generation that has to bear the whole burden. Fingers crossed.

source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323894704578109152933575788.html  

the 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe

The new Cadillac CTS-V is certainly an impressive car when you look at the numbers: a 556hp two tonne sedan that is just 3 seconds off the pace of the Porsche Panamera Turbo around the Nordschleife? There is no question you get huge bang for your buck if you’re looking for something to wake you up in the morning, but how often does the average businessman take his daily driver to the track?

In Jenny’s Blog she says that Cadillac has “framed itself as a luxury car that is equivalent to BMW and Benz (and) make BMW and Benz look boring”. The new Cadillac is mean and well muscled but when I’m driving to work when I’m 28, I want refinement. I want precision engineering and grace. I want something that does not look like something out of a java game I played in the 5th grade.

the new BMW M6 F12

If that is considered “boring” I am okay with that. A quick look at sales numbers in Europe suggest like minded people.

The good news for Cadillac is there are plenty of people buying their new car. After all; they are the Cadillac of cars.

When disaster strikes, opportunities arise. During Hurricane Sandy, many businesses looked to take advantage of the situation; which begged the question: is it ethical?

When companies like American Apparel and Gap are having “Hurricane Sandy Sales” and shamelessly flogging it on Twitter, its sort of like a slap in the face for the many people whose homes are being torn apart. There is no question that they profited from running an online sale when the east coast is stuck indoors but what effect did it have on their public perception? It certainly was bad enough to prompt apologies from Gap.

On the other hand, companies like Duracell are actually putting business aside help Sandy victims. Their deeds were applauded on social media as the people of New York were able to charge their mobile devices and received free batteries from Duracell’s trucks in the aftermath of the Hurricane.

I think its great that Duracell is doing things like this. They might be taking a loss on the operation but the next time I am deciding between Duracell and Energizer, I know who I will go with.

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/business/media/marketers-ride-the-coattails-of-a-storm-not-all-successfully.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

If you’ve followed the tech world in the last couple of years, you’ll know RIM has been tanking since 2008. Recently they have tried to claw their way back with tablets and the new Blackberry 10.

In Tanvir’s Blog, he describes this as their last chance at a comeback. However I read an an article about RIM’s exploits in Africa. 2 out of 4 million smartphone users in Nigeria are using a Blackberry. With such a huge market share in a developing country like Nigeria, there is a large potential for growth. Like we discussed in class about the quickly expanding cell networks in China, I believe the same is happening in Nigeria. In a quickly developing world where an iPhone is just too expensive, the Blackberry is in the Goldilocks zone of affordable but still a symbol of status..Its utility orientated design and PUSH capabilities also make it a valuable tool for business in Nigeria. This combination keeps it from being second to the iPhone like in the westernized world.

Indeed the stock price of RIM has declined over the last few years but as Chinese businesses move into Africa, we can expect an up rise in Blackberry use.

Source

There is no doubt Facebook and Twitter have become the Goliaths of social media in the last few years. Between the two, over $5 billion in ad sales revenue was generated in the last year alone.

While Facebook has already hit the stock market, Twitter has yet to do so; and rightly so. In just the 4 months after Facebook’s IPO, it lost half its market value due to a price set far too high by their market advisers and financial chief. The CFO of Twitter, Ali Rowghani, has made it clear that he does not want to make the same mistake Facebook did last spring but Twitter will inevitably make its IPO in the future. In the meantime, Twitter will be fending off fierce competition from other social networking sites like LinkedIn.

Rowghani has been with Twitter since early 2010 and has lead the implementation of its first advertising services as well as the international ventures that have valued Twitter at $8 billion. It will be interesting to see what move Rowghani will make next. While Twitter is holding off on making a public debut, it seems like the right next step for the micro blogging service. It will be imperative to learn from Facebook’s mistakes.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-09/avoiding-facebook-fate-is-twitter-cfo-goal-on-way-to-ipo

The release of the iPhone 5 brought many new features over its predecessor: the iPhone 4. Mostly the usual: faster, lighter, thinner, better camera. Some, like the larger screen, are more “revolutionary”. However, the one that has been the focus of attention from gadget geeks and regular consumers alike has been the new “Lightning” connector.

The only real benefit to the consumer is that it is smaller and reversible. It still uses USB 2.0 technology so it is no faster than the old 30 pin connector.

So why did they change the connector?  Apple claims it was necessary to facilitate the thinner body. The more realistic answer is: money. Now that all the “old” docking speakers, alarm clocks and FM transmitters are not compatible with their new iPhone, consumers are scrambling to get their hands on either new accessories or the lighting adapter, which by the way, is expected to cost $29.

From just the change in connector alone, Apple is expected to generate an additional $100 million. Well played.

http://mashable.com/2012/09/13/apple-iphone-accessories-revenue/

When buying a new pair of shoes, what do you look for? Comfort? Style? Durability? Value?

You’ve probably heard of TOMS shoes and their “One-for-One” shoe drop program. Sure this is a great initiative that befits thousands of poor children around the world but is it profiting from westernized consumer vulnerability?

Currently, TOMS sells shoes from $55-$120 and generated over $9.6 million in revenue last year. Although there are no published production costs, it can be estimated to cost around $5-$10 a pair to manufacture in China and shipped to North America. Assuming TOMS gives away the least costly shoe, they are still making between 73% and 83% profit margins.

TOMS is able to sell their cheaply made and quick deteriorating shoes for a high price because consumers love to feel like they are helping the world. When the idea of buying a pair of shoes for a poor child comes to mind, it seems consumers throw out the value question in their shoe purchase.

I’m not saying to not give to the poor, just be aware there are more effective ways to use your dollar when you feel charitable. Rather than paying for a pair of shoes to be shipped to a poor country, along with the plane tickets for staff and PR members, I will just donate to a direct charity and be happy with my long lasting, cheap sneakers.

http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/04/problem-charity-model-toms-shoes/