Monday, June 28, 2004

CARNIVAL OF THE LAISSEZ-FAIRE CAPITALISTS

I want to thank Jay Solo for giving me the opportunity to host this week's edition of Carnival of the Capitalists.

I want to start out with giving last week's host, Wayne Hurlbert of Blog Business World a box of kettle corn (instead of regular popcorn;). Please enter EGO coffee-house, kick back and relax and have a cup of java! Jour de féte! Here we go, time for the entries!

As a host, I took the liberty to comment on some of the posts, giving book recommendations, and linking to some of my posts.


Blogging for Business

Wayne Hurlbert (Blog Business World) has written an interesting post on how Blogs build Google PageRank:

Blogs are becoming a powerful tool, for strengthening any website’s Google PageRank, by taking advantage of what blogs have to offer.

Businesses should take note. A business blog can work wonders.

Google PageRank (one word) is the measure of an internet page based on the number and importance of a site’s incoming links.
[Editor's comment: EGO's main / index page has a PageRank of 5.]


Next week's carnival host, Peter Caputa of pc4media, has a clever plan that will put the big news organizations out of business...

Currently, all we do in blogging is publish and evaluate macro-trends. Blogging is dumb. We've only distributed part of the writer's job. We need to start working on systems that let every process in the news room, happen outside of the news room.
[Editor's comment: For more thoughts on blogging versus journalism, read my post, ANNUAL BLOG REPORT.]


Please stop by Yuma County Chamber of Commerce in Arizona, and help them to find what they are looking for...

Books and blogs have a lot in common with respect to the way you can find them online. Business blogs, or those tied to generic subjects like food, are often highly-ranked in search engines due to their specific subject matter. It is much less difficult for the owner of a topic-specific blog to promote it to a clearly-defined audience. (Browsing Better for Blogs?)
[Editor's note: Please feel free, both to browse the archives and use the search engines on EGO! ;)]


OSCommerce Experts have some expert advice in the art of Search Engine Results Positioning.


There is a surprisingly simple approach that organizes the flood of online goodies, improving chances of these being accurately matched and delivered to the appropriate consumer. This involves taking down information about these products or commodities and filing them so it would be easier to pull these up for future (and hopefully immediate) need. Doing so separates the clutter from the essentials. The best example for this would be the Search Engines.


Michael Lauher of Junk Drawer gives you an entertaining song-and-dance lesson on Blogs, Linking Strategies, & Google.

Mr. Lauher summarizes his post in the following way:

In this post, I examine how webmasters can use a possible change in Google’s algorithm to improve their search engine standings. It is believed that Google now uses a method to determine “Authority” websites. Based on a technical paper written on the subject, I examine how websites get to be “authority” sites and how a webmaster can use that information to work on making their own websites authority sites through blogs.


Marketing and sales

Fouro of Fouroboros says:

A few thematic posts on Creativity -- how it has to sneak under the radar when the suits aren't looking; and how even creative types fight amongst themselves whether design "sells out" to the Man.


Business

Be an interested participant of this carnival and check out the post, Stealthy Retail Growth. Here is an excerpt:

I challenge anyone to read a sampling of newspapers in America, Europe, and the Far East and not find a story about Wal-Mart. The big box discount retailer is always in the news, garnering both good and bad press.
[Editor's comment: I wish Wal-Mart and other big chain stores could enter the Swedish market. You have only three different big chains to pick from here in Sweden.]


David St Lawrence of Ripples asks the question: Are micro-businesses socially isolated? Mr. Lawrence states:

This post contrasts the social aspects of a micro-business with the social aspects of corporate life. It is a topic worth further discussion.


Les Jones has a nice collection of e-riffic links:

E-commerce-related links, and a discussion of InfoWorld's annual IT salary survey, with results for the job of e-commerce manager.


Management

Photon Courier describes two different kinds of Management Mentalities, as observed by Peter Drucker. [Editor's book recommendation: Edwin Locke's The Essence of Leadership: The Four Keys to Leading Successfully.]


Jay Solo sent the following e-mail:

Rob (Gut Rumbles) looks at what supervising people is, and provides descriptions of various types of supervisory styles.


Capitalism and Entrepreneurship

Jeff Cornwall of The Entrepreneurial Mind has found the new (baby) boom(erang?):

This post looks at another economic boom for entrepreneurs that is on its way due to the baby boomers getting toward old age (OUCH!). (We will not go quietly...)


Here is an excerpt from the post, Governments Don't Price Well, @ voluntaryXchange:

If the government priced the same way that firms do, more civilians would have traveled to space on their own dime. But, they don't ... and its probably because a bureaucrats job isn't on the line when making that sort of pricing decision.


Fly over to Drake Associates in California, if you want to read more about space:

The success of Scaled Composite's Space Ship One is stirring some interest within NASA about funding through reward rather than direct investment in projects and programs. It is part of the larger transformation initiative within the Space Agency that is reviewing strategies, goals, resources and methods. This brief questions whether this approach will achieve the outcome NASA wants or anticipates. (NASA ponders the right stuff.)


Before you land on the ground again, swing by Catallarchy.net and read David Masten's report from Mojave Spaceport in his post, Dawn of the Space Age?

I know that you want more, so jump over to Small Business Trends and read Anita Campbell's post, The Entrepreneurization of Space. Here is an abstract of the post:

Space is becoming the new frontier for entrepreneurs, as the U.S. government loosens its hold on space travel and even encourages private citizens to build spaceships.
[Editor's comment: If you don't feel lost in space, you are more than welcome to read my post, SPACESHIPONE AND THE MAN ON MARS.]


Economics

Dave Munger reports:

I've done my first Fisking, a lengthy one of a lengthy criticisms of Reganomics that some author posted at the Democratic Underground.
[Editor's article recommendation: America's Funeral: Ronald Reagan in Perspective by Scott Holleran. Capitalism Magazine, 06/14/04.]


Donald E. L. Johnson of the Business Word Inc. gives you a list of consequences if Kerry's $7 minimum wage would be implemented:

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) says he will increase the minimum wage to $7 (Why not $10 or $20?), which will increase unemployment and the number of uninsured while making health care jobs and military service more attractive. Thus, we'll be able to fight the war on terrorism on multiple fronts and rebuild every nation in the world. At the same time, increasing the minimum wage will:
[Editor's comment: On a related issue, read my post, THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY.]

Barry Ritholtz has the big picture outlook in his post, All the President's Indicators. Here is his description:

I wanted to try something a little different this week: I gathered a variety of economic, political, and market based electoral indicators, and posted them all in one place. The result: Depending upon which one you rely on, either President Bush or Senator Kerry are guaranteed to win the November election. (So much for indicators)

It was one of those odd coincidences: I came across so many separate "Presidential election indicators" in one day, I decided to gather them all in one place, for your blogging pleasure . . .
[Editor's comment: As a former purchaser and student of business administration, Purchasing Manager's Index is one of my favorite indicators.]


The Market

Steve Verdon clarifies his entry, Evolutionary Game Theory, as follows:

Given its rather theoretical topic here is a short description to use if you want:

Evolutionary game theory provides justification for the solution concept in game theory, the Nash equilibrium, besides the usual assumption of hyper-rationality on the part of the players. It tightens up some of the current economic justifications for game theory, and provides explanation for things previously unexplained such as why a parent will care for children.


Have you ever speculated about a price level of $60 for crude oil? Go to Incite blog and get the facts. Here is a brief summary:

Speculator argues that under the current structure of world crude markets, $60 crude prices are a functional impossibility, despite the scare-monger's hype and rhetoric. ($60 crude oil is a fantasy.)


Michael Seneadza (a.k.a Trader Mike) gives us an introduction to moving averages.

The article shows some simple uses moving averages to help an investor identify trends. It also gives examples of how moving averages can be used to help decide when and if to buy or sell stocks. (Trading 101: Moving Averages.)
[Editor's book recommendation: I am glad to see that one of Mike's favorite books is Victor Sperandeo's Trader Vic--Methods of a Wall Street Master. Editor's note to Michael Seneadza: What's your take on Michael Covel's trend following method?]


Michael Kantor (The Calico Cat) gives the following sound advice: Don't invest your 401k money in company stock. Here is a synopsis:

Notes disturbing data that a large percentage of 401k accounts are invested primarily in company stock. Didn't people learn anything from Enron?


Arnold Kling of EconLog is commenting on the housing P/E ratios and he is arguing that we are not necessarily in a housing bubble:

My response, like Brad's, is that home prices are too high if and only if long-term interest rates are too low. If long-term interest rates are too low, then the easiest speculative strategy is to short long-term Treasury securities in the futures market.


Taxes and regulations

Here is an excerpt from Roth & Company's post, What part of '60 days' don't you understand?

Mr. Dirk had the winning bid on a house that was up for auction. He withdrew money from IRA accounts to pay for the house...
Considering only federal taxes and penalties, Mr. Dirks will pay $52,916 for the use of $118,000 for 76 days. That works out to an effective interest rate of 215.37%


I hope you have enjoyed this edition of the Carnival of the Capitalists. Please go to Jay Solo's CotC info page to find out more about upcoming events.

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