Black Friday has been an American tradition since the beginning of American consumerism, however, recent trends show that the increasing Canadian dollar have made Black Friday canadian pastime, if only for those close to the border.

Consumer have always known that shopping in the United States can lead to saving, but the recent increases in the dollar has seen more and more Canadians crossing the border to do even their most simple shoppings. This shopping pattern is exemplified even more in the American shopping holiday of Black Friday, where deals and sales leave shoppers with even more savings.

However, though this may be good for Canadian consumers, retailers and stores are suffering as the continue to fail to compete with american prices. Canadians are exercising their buyer power. Retailers have no way of stopping those who choose to cross the border, if the canadian dollar continues to rise in the long term, they may be forced change their prices to compete with american prices.

Nevertheless, retailers are unlikely to change. There are already regulations in place that limit the amount a citizen can bring back into the country and only a dramatic change might distort the market enough to impact price difference between Canada and the United States.

Globe and Mail

Kiva Micro-financing or Kiva.org is a not for profit organization that funds small entrepreneurial businesses in developing and developed countries around the world. The organization allows individuals and groups to upload money onto the website and choose who to support, and with the help of partners, Kiva is able to transfer that aid to the recipient.

However, whats unique about the process of Kiva is that their donations and donor involvement is not linear. Not for profit organization are typically operated and funded by individual donations that go towards projects and often encourage people to donate again and often. Kiva, on the other hand, operates as a bank and therefore donations are rarely lost to the system, which makes it a great long-term investment.

As a school or organization who donates to a charity every year, Kiva allows them to accumulate their aid over the years and make a greater impact. With every loan they give and then recollect, the donor is given the power to impact another persons life with having to reinvest in the organization.

Kiva has reinvented the idea of donating, a social enterprise helping enterprise.

Maker Studios Founders

Where the internet meets internet and then real life, Part 3.

Though YouTube has enjoyed a large increase in its viewership during the past few years, it has failed to reach a level even close to that of television and many doubt that is has the capability to so. However, a few young and successful stars have crossed the boundary and taken the next step in obtaining a quality and level of production that could rival even that of televisions.

However, making that leap with a somewhat unstable platform such as YouTube had never been done before and the founders of Maker Studios showed what I believe to be the key entrepreneurial qualities when they started their company.

Entrepreneurs in their essences are problem solvers. They look at a function or servers and identify any issues associated with it. They then take a risk by coming up with a new and unique solution for the issue they have identified and by doing so improve and propel the market forward.

Maker Studios saw a number of talented and hard working artists, each with their own camer and equipment, and working out of their homes, garages, and basements. An efficient and resources consuming process. They understood that by uniting these YouTubers, their collective power would not only raise their level of production and output, but also fuel their creativity, exposure and viewership. They are part of the growing mass of entrepreneurs on the internet.

http://makerstudios.com/

Will Barnes and Noble meet the same fate?

Barnes and Noble has faced hard times in the last few quarters as it tries to compete with competitors that can sell the same product for a much lower price, such as Amazon, and the recent and strong emergence of the e-reader.

However, they recently made the decision to remove DC Comic books and associated products from their shelves after the company sold exclusive rights of some of its products to Amazon, Barnes and Noble largest competitor. Pam writes in her blog that Barnes and Noble has made a grave mistake in failing to adapt quickly to the electronic market and I agree with her assessment. It is clear that Amazon is leading the field, with their Kindle sales alone, but the question now remains whether Barnes and Noble will be able to survive.

It seems unlikely that Barnes and Noble will be able to release a electronic reader that would compete with the likes of the Kindle or iPad, who have already established themselves within the market, and without the an associated product consumers are more going to gravitate towards the ease buying from the manufacturer rather than a third party.

The future looks dim for Barnes and Noble as they move forward on the path of become another old book on the shelf, seldom to be read, except by a sentimental few.

Amazon’s Kindle Leaves Barnes & Noble Flaming