Month: October 2011

In response to Adelle’s post, I don’t believe it is the government’s job to limit the amount of caffeine in a drink. Recently, the Canadian government has been attempting to restrict the amount of the stimulant allowed in each available beverage. Similarly, some drinks have been made illegal in some parts of the United States.

The banning of these drinks in certain states is particularly interesting. Some states banned the sale of an “energy drink” that contained alcohol: Four Loko. The ban was put into place due to some alcohol related deaths of youth. They attributed the deaths to caffeine being consumed concurrently with alcohol, a depressant.  However, I do not believe this is the case. I believe that it is the popularity of the beverage among young and underage drinkers to be the cause of the deaths. Young people are less aware of their limits. By making drink that happens to appeal to those who are unfamiliar to drinking, they are unjustly blamed for deaths that would occur with the next most popular youth drink, such as wine-coolers.

In fact, banning “coolers” in Canada was once considered for its preference amongst teenagers due to its sweetness. However, it’s up to education about the substance, whether caffeine or alcohol, that safety is achieved, not the banning of drinks that taste a certain way.

Adelle’s Post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/adelletepper1/2011/10/06/canada-restricting-caffeine-in-energy-drinks/

Other links: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/us/27drink.html?th&emc=th

_{Here’s a link to a blog entry that I found particularly useful. It uses the term, bootstrapping, to describe a practical way to begin a small business. It involves cutting costs to a minimum during the early stages of business in order to make up for a lack of capital. I find this particularly useful for entrepreneurs, since I was once in a position where I started a company without the experience and credibility to acquire a loan. It blurred the distinction between the LLC and personal life since revenue and costs of the business were so interconnected with that of of the person during startup. In the article, it suggests simple cost-saving techniques that blur the distinction, such as finding free publicity and working from home. These techniques are extremely useful in the creation of a small business.}

_{Many prominent business people have a “go big or go home” attitude. This article stands out since there are many small business owners who lack the ability to acquire significant capital.}

 _{Link: http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/blog/entry/7255/}

Here’s an interesting article that follows up on the Netflix situation discussed in class. It follows up on the huge losses brought forth by recent price increases. Upon checking Netflix’s long term stock performance, it shows that it’s valued at roughly the same point as September of last year. However, this is a colossal drop from its peak in July. Here are Netflix’s stocks in the last five years.

According to the article, the CEO claims the loss of customers should level off “as the price effect washes through.”  Sure, but what about the company’s future? Netflix’s previous successes were made possible through technological advancements – what used to take several days to download now takes minutes. But, this means that other channels of distribution, legal or not, are becoming more and more convenient as well. For Netflix to flourish, their prices must be low enough to justify the “inconvenience” of downloading through alternate routes such as BitTorrent and Usenet. Personally I believe Netflix’s prospects are dim unless they rethink their business model. Their advancements heavily rely on copyright issues, which is slow and is unlikely to keep pace with how convenient the free means of distribution are becoming.

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/netflix-stock-crushed-as-subscribers-flee/article2212024/