How would you rate this situation that lets web visitors decide layoff

PS. As an independent market researcher and not paid by any to do so, I would highly appreciate your opinion on this technique:



In news today:
Ad agency lets web visitors decide layoff
Dec 21, 2008 04:30 AM

Susan Pigg LIVING REPORTER @ The Toronto Star
"A Brussels advertising agency has come up with a novel, new-age solution to the economic downturn – a social layoff site of sorts where you can help decide, with a click, which of its eight employees should be laid off come January.
"Take your courage in one hand and your mouse in the other," says the ironically named company, So Nice, which has created a website that's the online equivalent of The Apprentice – minus the limo rides and the rich rewards." continue reading

See also what comments are @ The Toronto Star +++ Snopes.com

NB. Thanks to BPWebNews for the polldady's lead

NB. Web analytics, Web metrics, and e-metrics are expanding their scope everyday. Here is a focus on measuring the performance of vendors (aka brokers, distributors, etc.), beneficial for information professionals, esp. in Third World.

Efficiency analysis of brokers in the electronic marketplace

Virgílio A.F. Almeida^12a, Wagner Meira Jr.^3*,a, Victor F. Ribeiro^b, Nivio Ziviani^4a,b

^aDepartment of Computer Science, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
^bMiner Technology Group, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

Abstract:

In this paper we analyze the behavior of e-commerce users based on actual logs from two large non-English e-brokers. We start by presenting a quantitative study of the behavior of e-brokers and discuss the influence of regional and cultural issues on them. We then discuss a model that quantifies the efficiency of the results provided by brokers in the electronic marketplace. This model is a function of factors such as server response time and regional factors. Our findings clearly indicate that e-commerce is strongly tied to local language, national customs and regulations, currency conversion and logistics, and Internet infrastructure. We found that the behavior of customers of online bookstores is strongly affected by brand and regional factors. Music CD shoppers show a different behavior that might stem from the fact that music is universal and not so language dependent.

From those who stumbled upon

PS. This review of StumbleUpon is not mine and this stumbling has nothing to do with a Mughal king who stumbled in his royal library at Delhi--In the words of the British orientalist Stanley Lane-Poole, "Humayun stumbled out of life as he had stumbled through it."

"I must say I was disappointed to find out that Ebay had recently bought Stumble, though. It seems that all the sites I most love are being snapped up by these huge corporations. One cannot blame the site developers, really, after all there is serious money to be made, and yet, my idealistic self would love to see these types of sites unfettered by corporate for-profit ties. But I guess that, across the board, things will be moving more in that for-profit direction rather than less… take a look, in fact, at my next post to see another chilling move in that direction." Read the full article @ Bookishdesi's blog

Putting Librarian Expertise to Work:
"StumbleUpon is a browser add-on for finding and sharing great websites. Unlike directories or search engines, StumbleUpon uses member ratings to form collective human opinions on website quality." [via MetaFilter]
This is somewhat similar to the tool I want for librarian pagerank. Instead of "good" or "bad," a site would be "authentic" or "trustworthy."

See also:

Good Gear Guide - StumbleUpon - Reviews - Software - Utilities - Desktop Search

Google it

Thanks to Dr. Smith for sharing his knowledge of how he stumbled...

Come see why The Wall Street Journal says:
"Next time you want to wander the Web, forget about Googling it. Stumble it."
– Chief 
drsmith@dr-smith.com

36 Blog Rules to Keep You in Business

If ou are a corporate blogger or interested in what works in blogsphere, you have Nancy Flynn's excellent book that tells you have far, how much and how deep should you go, and more so what are the boundaries that you should be aware. [Info courtesy: Microsoft Momentum, June 2007: 7]

BLOG RULES: A Business Guide to Managing Policy, Public Relations, and Legal Issues by Nancy Flynn (AMACOM Books, 2006)
Here are some rules to keep you and your business in business and out of court.
Blog Rule #1: The blog is an electronic communications powerhouse.
Blog Rule #2: Business blogs are not necessary or appropriate for every organization.
Blog Rule #3: Savvy business owners and executives must learn how to strategically and successfully manage the blogosphere today.
Blog Rule #4: It’s the casual, conversational, anything-goes nature of the blog that makes it both so appealing to blog writers and readers.
Blog Rule #5: An organization without an external blog program may risk losing position, market share, reputation, and sales to tech-savvy competitors.
Blog Rule #6: The strategic management of blogs or any other electronic business communications tool begins with the establishment of written rules and policies governing usage and content.
Blog Rule #7: A business blog opens the organization up to potential disasters.
Blog Rule #8: Management, technology, and the legal system have not yet caught up with the potential benefits and risks of business blogging.
Blog Rule #9: Strategic blog management begins with the establishment of a clear objective.
Blog Rule #10: Don’t allow IT (or legal, records management, or human resources) to dictate your business blog program.
Blog Rule #11: Require employees to sign a confidentiality agreement to protect trade secrets and confidential data belonging to the organization, employees, customers, business partners, and other third parties.
Blog Rule #12: Use discipline to maximize employee compliance with blog rules, policies, and procedures. continue reading Blog Rule # 13 - 36

From The Critics
Business Times (New Haven, CT):
Blog Rules is the one guide readers need to help ensure that their organizations are helped and not hindered by this revolutionary tool.
Niche Magazine:
Since the rules about business relationships and blogs can be hazy, Nancy Flynn has written an essential guide..
Library Journal:
Flynn's book... is more strictly for CEOs fearful of blogging. [continue reading these critical notes at bn.com]

Table of Contents (sample, see full list at bn.com)
Ch. 1 Why blog rules? 3
Ch. 2 Blogs pose unprecedented risks to business 13
Ch. 3 Start with a clear objective : why blog? 20
Ch. 4 Proceed with caution : self-assessment for would-be business bloggers 26
Ch. 5 Treat blog posts as business records 39

Amazing Pace: Turbo-Charged Business Development

NB. The following is not about a book with a similar title, Amazing pace : the story of Olympic champion Michael Phelps from Sydney to Athens to Beijing, by Paul McMullen.

Here we are sailing in a different pace and in a different style, called busienss development. Amazing Pace: Turbo-Charged Business Development
Dr. Earl R. Smith II, ISBN: 1424186277, 183 pages.

Following is a description of the book:
I’ve never met a CEO who was really happy with the way business development was working. They all end up saying the same thing. “Traditional solutions fail to produce expected results while regularly generating unexpected costs. There needs to be a better way.”

Amazing Pace shows you how to turbo-charge business development. Over decades of experience as a CEO, board member and senior advisor, I have developed a unique approach to turbo-charging business development. It involves: 1) a board of advisors, which is populated by very senior people who are dedicated to driving the top line; 2) a different approach to resourcing and organizing a company’s senior management team; and 3) an approach that focuses on building revenue in large chunks.

This book will show you how it’s done. It will also help you avoid the pitfalls and leverage the strengths of your company. Read on—this really works!

Table of Contents
Introduction
The Conundrum that is Business Development
Chapter 1: Five Reasons Why Business Development Is So Difficult To Get Right
Chapter 2: Seven Reasons Why Advisory Boards Don’t Produce
Chapter 3: Battle at the Cottage Gate
Chapter 4: Dysfunctional Advisory Boards – A Family of Problems
Chapter 5: Advisory Boards as Business Development Engines – The Beginnings
Advisory Boards
Chapter 1: Turbocharged Business Development
Chapter 2: Benefits and Costs
Chapter 3: John’s Questions – Round Two
Chapter 4: Change Management
Planning for Two Journeys
Chapter 1: Change Management
Chapter 2: Board Design and Population
A Working Board
Chapter 1: The First Board Meeting
Chapter 2: Conflict, Renegotiation and Removal
Chapter 3: First Blood
On Leadership
Chapter 1: Leadership That Empowers – The Fire of the Mind
Chapter 2: Leadership that Limits - The ‘Completeness Doctrine’
Chapter 3: A Balanced Senior Management Team
Managing Mt. Rushmore
Retrospective
Chapter 1: Anniversary
Chapter 2: Assessing the Impact
Final Thoughts
Contact Information

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Shelf Location:
Business > Industry
Economics > Business and Industry
Finance > Business and Industry
Business > Management