IPods And The Workplace: The Debate Begins

As the amount of Apple iPods and other portable media devices continues to grow, users are increasingly putting their entire entertainment lives on them, and carrying them everywhere. Including their office cubicles. Bringing music to the office is nothing new, but the just like complaints are increasing about cell phone use in public, complaints are starting to come in about the use of iPods in the workspace. More to the point, a new rudeness and lack of basic etiquette when dealing with personal versus shared space. - Music Hath Charms For Some Workers - Others It Annoys (USA Today) - IPods And The Office (USA Today's Pop Candy Blog) - IPods At The Office (CFO.com) Try Rhapsody for 14 days FREE

More On Advertising: Brand Recognition

According to a new study by the trade group Television Bureau of Advertising, people planning to buy an SUV are 30 percent more likely to remember the brand featured in an SUV ad than are those with no such plans. The results of the study examined the receptiveness of viewers to ads in the categories of cholesterol medication, pickup trucks, SUVs and fast-food hamburgers. The study was meant to determine whether people in the market for a product respond especially well to advertising for that product. The answer was...mostly yes. Why mostly yes? An example given in the article from the New York Times uses some of the research around burgers. People who eat hamburgers at least four times a month are slightly less likely than everyone else to remember the brand behind an ad for a hamburger restaurant. For staples and very small ticket items, most of the time a consumer doesn't see much difference per brand. A burger is a burger, and you might as well go to the one closest to you at the moment then go out of your way. - Going Out For A Burger At What's-Its-Name (New York Times) - IAB Study: Ad Relevance Does Matter (Mediaweek) Yahoo! Sponsored Search

Do You Buy From Ads On TV?

In a joint survey by the Association of National Advertisers and Forrester Research, marketers from Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Verizon and Colgate were among the 133 people surveyed, and was found that nearly four in five of the marketers surveyed believe that television advertising is less effective than it was just two years ago. This study, released yesterday, also noted that marketers are increasingly interested in exploring new ways of getting their messages across with their continued believe in the failing power of traditional means. - Study: Advertisers Believe Their TV Commercials Are Less Effective (USA Today) Survey Payoff

The $100,000+ Career: Another Book Suggestion

Another book plug, this one from John Davies, who wants to help you get your next job. John's book is entitled "The $100,000+ Career: The New Approach to Networking for Executive Job Change ," and he says its as simple as meeting new people. Following the 'Law of 100' if you basically find a way to introduce yourself to 100 new people, you will find yoconnectionion to a new employer (and chances are you won't have to go any where near 100 actual introductions before you make that connection). You can hear his interview from Little Rock's KARN Newsradio's First News here (.mp3 format). UPDATE: John Davies has his own blog, 'The "Law of 100" Certified, Copyrighted, and Official Blog.' Pongo Resume

Conversations Blog: LinkedIn Bloggers Blast Of The Week

LinkedIn is a website/online tool for building and maintaining a network pool. A group of very successful networkers and staunch believers of LinkedIn started the LinkedIn Bloggers Yahoo Group to discuss how blogging and related technologies can support their professional networking and self-promotion in the spirit of LinkedIn. In that spirit was born a weekly blog blast, where a randomly selected blog gets the gift/curse of mass promotion from the blogs of the group members. This week's blog is Conversations Blog, maintained by Philippe Borremans, which opens up with a motto: "Talk is cheap, free speech isn't..." An interesting observation, if you see it from the eyes of an American (me) viewing it in the writings from a person who is European. More specific, Phillipe is from Belgian, and many of his posts are inspired by his interest in the state of blogging and its legal landscape in the European Union. Very fitting for a guy who works in Public Relations for the technology industry. If you ready for some insightful views on PR, technology, or even Europeans, I invite you to check Phillipe's Conversations Blog. - Conversations Blog ProStores - an eBay Company

Not So Breaking News: Microsoft Has A Delay In Software Release

Technology stocks are seeing and early fall in trading today, after Microsoft Corp (MSFT)' announced yesterday that the next version of its Windows operating system, Windows Vista will not be available for release for consumers until January 2007. The big fear is that a delay for retail release until after the holiday shopping season will result in a big miss for consumers who are already willing to make big ticket purchase at that time of year. Windows Vista is already two years late as far as being released to the public. - Microsoft Delays Wide Launch Of Windows Vista (MSNBC.com) Alienware Home & Office Systems

Mark Cuban On Business Success

Say what you want about Mark Cuban, the man knows how to get things done. So I was surprised to read on his blog the other day that as a pioneer of getting content to people over the internet, he doubts the future ability of getting higher quality content to people over the internet. I was further surprised to see him write about how as an genius and young entrepreneur, his businesses couldn't take off until he figured out that his shortcomings were actually shortcomings, and became willing to partner with the right person who could handle those shortcomings and (mostly) fight fair when the ying and the yang couldn't easily settle an issue. I am becoming more impressed by Mark Cuban as a business man now that he is spending less time being a pure maverick against everything. He also seems to be awful with capitalization and punctuation, which will always earn points with me. - Think The Internet Will Replace TV ? Think Again (Blog Maverick) - Success & Motivation - Dont Lie to Yourself (Blog Maverick) StubHub.com

Bosses Not Buying The Need For Mentoring

An article I found from reading the Employment Digest Blog caught my attention today, because it essentially turned one of my strongest maxims for a young business professional, finding a mentor, and turned it on its head. It also confirms one of my fears in the process of finding that old salty dog that's been to hell in back in their career and has the knowledge you need to get ahead. They don't want to be bothered with you. You're too much trouble. Bosses are finding that they're too busy doing their multi-tasking jobs to stop and scrutinize every thing subordinates are doing, even if it is the what helped to mold them on their way up the corporate ladder. On the flip side, the mechanism for stepping to give quick motivation or assistance to the junior executive who underperforming but has potential. Or to quickly weed out those who just don't have what it takes. - Bosses Find Mentoring Isn't Worth The Time, Risks (AZ Central.com) Soundview Executive Book Summaries

Request For Reader Input: Links

We're looking to do some spring cleaning on Cool Corporate dot COM, and we need your help. The 'Links' section in the upper right hand section of this page needs updating. While most of the links are to good sites, the freshness and relevance of some of the links don't exactly fit the page as originally hoped. So we're looking for suggestions. Just give a comment with a site name, the web address, and why they should be listed on this site. Thanks for your help, -J.C. Payne

Not Having To Replace Your Blackberry Will Cost RIM Big In The Wallet

Research In Motion Ltd (RIMM) reached a $612.5 million dollar settlement today with NTP, the small technology company who actually hold the patents to the email technology used by the BlackBerry Wireless Devices, and were threatening to pull the plug on the Canadian company and millions of wireless addicted handheld owners. For weeks, I have talked to a financial advisor I work with on the radio about this, asking if this issue on the patent will all go away if RIM just handed over a bag full of money. His answer was, 'It depends.' RIMM is not a stock that he follows, but he follows trends, and the fact that this little gizmo has become so ingrained into the lives of business people and tech junkies meant something had to be done regardless, because somebody will find a way to make money off of them. One of those companies hoping to take advantage of a world without BlackBerrys was Palm Inc. (PALM), who are now seeing stock prices fall after hopes of having one less competitor were dashed after the settlement. - Settlement Ends BlackBerry Patent Suit (CBS News) - Deal Averts BlackBerry Service Shutdown (ABC News) - Palm Shares Fall After BlackBerry Settlement (Reuters) ING Direct High Yield Savings Accounts

LinkedIn Bloggers Blast Of The Week: Email Overloaded

LinkedIn is a website/online tool for building and maintaining a network pool. A group of very successful networkers and staunch believers of LinkedIn started the LinkedIn Bloggers Yahoo Group to discuss how blogging and related technologies can support their professional networking and self-promotion in the spirit of LinkedIn. In that spirit was born a weekly blog blast, where a randomly selected blog gets the gift/curse of mass promotion from the blogs of the group members. This week's blog is Email Overloaded, maintained by Itzy Sabo, offers practical tips for getting the most out of your email programs. - Email Overloaded Try TypePad Now to Get a Hosted Blog with Powerful Features

Replacing Your Blackberry Will Cost You Big In The Wallet

While everyone is waiting to see what will become of the injunction to shuts down BlackBerry e-mail service in the United States, analysts are evaluating the landscape that will be affected. And while Palm Inc. (PALM) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT) would love to get there hands on a large influx of customers leaving Research In Motion Ltd (RIMM), the customers themselves will find that the cost of replacing one handheld unit for another, along with service and the proper interactive software won't come cheap - Analysts: BlackBerry Switch Will Cost Users (eWeek.com) Net 10 Wireless