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I Can't Do This Again. You're Going to Have to Help Me Out, Bunkie.

 Do you remember the fanfare a few weeks ago when the iPhone 3G came out? That same day, Pandora founder Tim Westergren unveiled the Pandora for the iPhone application, and it has consistently been among the most downloaded iPhone apps. And Pandora overall has become among the most popular online music services (6.5 million users in mid May...ummm...mid May 2007!). Unfortunately, thanks to new music royalty fees introduced last year that charge Internet radio operators disproportionately higher fees than satellite or terrestrial radio companies, the nascent Internet radio industry--I'm speaking of smaller operators and start-ups--are at risk.

This whole brouhaha seemingly came to a head in the Spring and Summer of last year. Yours truly blogged about this quite a bit. I also repetitively wrote to congresspeople, senators, called them, etc., etc. Which brings us back to present day. Tim Westergren was recently quoted in an excellent Washington Post article citing that, due to the fact royalty charges are now eating up 70% of Pandora's revenues, and given that the SoundExchange folks have NOT been negotiating in good faith these past several months, he is seriously considering shuttering the Pandora service...and soon. This is a shame. I would have linked you straight to the Post article, but this ReadWriteWeb blog post and the many replies it generated (nearly 100 as I write this) are absolutely worth a read. It in turn will bring you to the aforementioned newspaper article.

Unfortunately I'm out of fight on this one at least for now. However, if YOU haven't done so already and you enjoy Pandora and/or similar services, I'd encourage you to contact your appropriate state representative. Instructions for exactly how to do so and the message to carry abound on the Web. Yes, there are far more pressing issues for us to deal with. But I'd like to think that free enterprise and entrepreneurialism rather than monopolistic business practices should be the order of the day in the music business. Sure, artists deserve to be fairly compensated, but Internet radio outlets also deserve equitable royalty assessments, don't you think?

What a Difference No Nardelli Makes

Perhaps you've heard of CRM software. CRM stands for customer relationship management. Well, no CRM software that I'm aware of could produce what I believe is a huge improvement in how a retailer treats its customers in just the last few months. Former Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli is long gone, and among the many pledges new CEO Frank Blake made upon being appointed to take over the helm was to improve the abysmal treatment customers received by increasing hiring, treating employees better and empowering them more effectively, and by providing more training. You know...I just made some of this stuff up because I'm too lazy to check all my facts, but hey, it's a BLOG!

OK, in all seriousness, several months ago Mr. Blake was quoted as saying the following: "Our priorities are directly related to what has frustrated our customers. Some of the big issues have been associate engagement, how the associates interact with customers, and the look and feel of our stores.” Apparently, better supply chain management is also a focus. I have loathed the experience of going into Home Depot for years. Our local store in San Carlos, California has been particularly awful. Inadequately staffed with poorly trained and rude floor staff, painful lapses in inventory (i.e., product missing core parts, etc.), dark interiors, etc., all have been core to the experience.

This may all be in the past. Last weekend I walked into Home Depot to find a cleaner and brighter store. Somehow they've put some type of shiny, shelacky finish on the concrete floors. And the help. Well, they've actually GOT help. And they're uniformly helpful. They form complete sentences. They answer your questions. They ask if they can...HELP you. They even offer to get you a cart or help carry the crap you're carrying in your arms. Friends, last Saturday I bought a 100 foot 14 gauge extension cord, 100 feet of garden hose, and...my most precious purchase, a "Hose Mobile." This thing is the real fashizzy. I spent more than $100, and for the first time in years, I didn't walk out of Home Depot feeling like a rage-o-holic. No, I walked out with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. Seriously.

Employees helped me all along the way, eagerly providing me super polite assistance even as I yapped away loudly and obnoxiously with my wife over the Bluetooth (but not at the cash register--NEVER at the cash register...that's simply bad manners). It was simply shocking, so shocking that I called the general manager (his number was located on a sign at the front of the store), who picked up his extension on the third ring. I offered him and his store hearty praise. Of course the fact that I began the conversation by saying, "Dude, I need to give you some straight feedback!" braced him for an abrasive input session. Instead, I gave glowing compliments.

Yes, it's probably too early to proclaim a turnaround, so to speak...only time will tell. But Home Depot proves that CRM is ultimately, like so many other business principles, about people dammit! Speaking of people, Home Depot's gain could very well be Chrysler's loss.

Can Whole Foods Market '2.0 Itself' Out of a Negative Reputation?

Come on, you've heard it. "Whole Paycheck!" It's the reputation Whole Foods Markets has for being an overpriced food market. Whole Foods recently revamped its blog, and has a few posts talking about value priced products. If you go into their stores, you'll see more of a focus on this Iin their displays (including some in your face 'don't trust what the big guys tell you' signage) as well. I saw this start to happen before the current economic malaise, most likely because Whole Foods' revenues started to slow down prior to the current...ummm...it's OK...you can say it....RECESSION! I'm thinking about this because of a recent New York Times article that tried to tackle the"issue" of changing Whole Foods' image. Here are my random thoughts:

1) Let’s acknowledge that Whole Foods provides a premium food market and shopping experience. One will inevitably pay more for such an experience.

2) Furthermore, Whole Foods takes extreme measures to ensure the freshness and quality of its products, particularly its meats, poultry and seafood. One will inevitably pay more for these products.

Great. I've got my wallet wide open. But how does one explain the myriad of private label 365 products that are beyond competively priced? I’m thinking about 365 brand extra virgin olive oil in particular, or 365 brand marina spaghetti sauce. The latter, at a mind boggling $1.99/bottle, is a staple in my house. 365 brand frozen pizzas are also very inexpensive. And what about the fact that the Rosie’s organic boneless skinless breasts in my local California Whole Foods Market are less expensive than the Safeway brand organic boneless skinless chicken breasts. The aforementioned NYT article contained a skewed perspective from a customer who said one can only save money at a Whole Foods by eating rice and beans. Not true. Yes, one does need to see what’s on sale and be judicious. Case in point, I wasn’t willing to spend $12.99/pound (or was it $13.99/pound) for flank steak, but the round bone lamb chops I saw today at $5.99/pound were very competitively priced, and beautiful.

Blah blah blah...let's get back to the Whole Foods blog. It will be interesting to see how they keep it well rounded, not go over the top with the "value" thang, but at the same time, continue trying to chip away at a somewhat inaccurate and unfair corporate reputation.

Hey! Not Cuil!! At Least Not Yet...

Did you hear all the hoopla about www.cuil.com, the next generation search site started by a gang of ex-Google folks? I have to hand it to Cuil's PR machine. And while my highly biased and subjective opinion is that this site is not yet ready for prime time from a search relevancy standpoint, let's not count them out. Cuil claims to index exponentially more Web pages than any other search engine.

The site will likely get far better as it is banged on repetitively during the coming days and weeks. And might I add that search technology developers are some of the quirkiest, most socially dysfunctional, and downright brightest folks I have ever come into contact with. I worked for three years at Inktomi Corporation. Inktomi's search technology remains the brains behind Yahoo! Search. Despite the popularity of Google and the current trend to treat Yahoo! like a pinata, the fact remains that Yahoo! Search is highly accurate and is extremely competitive with Google from a relevancy standpoint.

I root for Yahoo! I root for Google. And perhaps I'll root for Cuil as well. Why? Search me! Ahh...that was a cheap one liner. The answer is easy. Innovation. And yes, Yahoo! is still innovating. Don't believe the hype.

More Optimism! And Some Melancholy, Too!

Shai Agassi and T. Boone Pickens. Not two names you'd expect to see together. And sure, at first glance one may "trust" Mr. Agassi more than Mr. Pickens. I mean...what could that old oil man Mr. Pickens' motives possibly be with his suddenly altruistic urge to reduce our dependence on foreign oil? Well, making money of course! And what the heck is wrong with that? Didn't I already mention last week that where making money and helping the environment align, it's all good?

As for Mr. Agassi, he left SAP a year ago and is trying to set up a newfangled electric car and electric fueling infrastructure grid in Israel. Thomas Friedman writes about these two folks in yesterday's New York Times. I found the op-ed inspiring and hope you do too.

On the less inspiring side is Ford Motor Company, which according to financial analyst Eric Fox, is "navigating by rear-view mirror." Last week, Ford announced an $8.7 billion loss for its most recent quarter. Ford has relied too heavily on light truck and SUV sales for many years. And now it is fighting for its survival. Are you feeling empathy for Ford? Well, you're likely not a member of the the Sierra Club. Check out this humorous ditty. Seacrest Out!

R.I.P. Randy Pausch

When Did We Become So Pessimistic?

First, a disclaimer. I'm not a conservative or a liberal. I'm a MODERATE. But remember that guy Ronald Reagan? A giddy optimist. But now we have conservative naysayers who all but dismiss Al Gore as being a circus clown.

An op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal politely dismisses Gore's idea to be 100% energy independent and have that energy coming from renewable sources in 10 years as "absurd," and goes on to state, "Maybe other people will start drawing the same conclusion about the man proposing it."

The National Review calls Gore's idea "irresponsible" and "deranged."

Can you imagine technology visionaries being so pessimistic? "Oh, here's what we CAN'T do." Kiss your iPod, your Wii, your ridiculously small and low power consuming laptop, and my brand new Samsung Blackjack II, etc., etc., good bye.

Since when did we become the land of cannots and no-can do's? I wish I could find it, but years ago I read an MIT Technology article stating that U.S. car manufacturers could theoretically attain the ability to mass produce cars that get in the range of 40-50 miles per gallon if they had the will.

So OK, you think Gore is off his rocker? How about low-balling it and shooting for a goal of 50% energy independence and coming from renewable sources in 10 years. BHAGs are widely proclaimed to be good for business. CEOs come up with ambitious BHAGs and they're admired. Gore comes up with one and he is dismissed as a half-wit.

So OK, you don't believe in global warming? OK. Do you feel good that we're largely dependent on nations that would seek to destroy our way of life for the majority of our oil? And incidentally, indulge me and run a test in your back yard or your back terrace. Buy two 6 inch plastic houseplant pots. In one pot, put in a nice batch of potting soil. In the other pot, put in a batch of cigarette butts, road salt, road sand, and maybe some toe nail clippings for good measure. And then buy two identical seedlings from your local garden store and water each pot every two-to-three days. After one month, compare the health of the two plants. Get the picture?

So OK, are you out there saying, "Nuclear is the answer, you big dopes," just like I heard on the Glenn Beck TV program on CNN Headline News last night, complete with the Gov. of Texas touting nuclear power as clean energy? Hey, I'm not Jackson Browne beating the ladies into submission while I sing "live" ditties on 70's "No Nukes" albums. But clean energy? Hmmm...according to Wikipedia, nuclear power plants produce....nuclear waste! And nuclear waste can take from 10,000 to 1,000,000 years to "deal with."

So OK, you're out there saying, "Vinod Khosla and these other greedy bastard Silicon Valley VCs--they don't care about the environment. They just want to make a fast buck." What the hell is wrong with that? Where money and the good of people-kind align, I'll call that altruistic. Oh, and optimistic. Apparently we could use a bit of that right about now.

Pithy Blog Posts Sometimes Backfire

I'm afraid I have to come down a bit on Ben Worthen of the wsj.com's Business Technology blog for a pithy and not terribly well thought out post titled, "The IPhone Makes It Into A Business." Perhaps it's tongue and cheek given the long lines outside AT&T stores on Friday combined with the operational issues which occurred the same day in iTunes server land. But the post starts by going on record saying, "This blog has been skeptical about the rate at which businesses will adopt iPhones. Our take is that most corporate information-technology departments are too conservative to roll out the devices right away. And they won’t want to throw out investments they’ve made in BlackBerrys."

Well: 1) What about those companies (and there are a few out there) that chose to never hop on the BlackBerry bandwagon and have no such impediments? 2) What about the fact that renegade employees, and there are plenty of them, simply can buy an iPhone and figure out how to hack their way onto the corporate email network...and if not, they don't care? Incidentally, plenty of EXECUTIVES do this themselves, or have their exclusive IT assistants do it for them. 3) And what about the companies that ARE hopping on the bandwagon?

Case in point, with the landing of the iPhone on planet 3G, my employer, Oracle, is choosing to include the iPhone among its list of supported devices. The company has unveiled an initial set of applications that run on the iPhone, and don't you think more will roll out over the course of time? So how many folks work at Oracle? I don't know...somewhere around 80,000? If 25% of those folks belly up to the bar, the iPhone population at the big O will exceed that of my hometown.

I expect more from the Journal, and found the post short-sighted, as did a responder who stated, "Of course you’ve been skeptical. That’s why you’re a business journalist. You would never make it in a business responsible for line operation, because you don't have VISION. "

Ouch!

Incidentally, I'm not a hypemaster for Apple or the iPhone. I don't own an iPhone and have no intention of purchasing one in the near term. My AT&T 8525 doesn't work just fine for the time being.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect those of my employer.

Yes, the Bill Clinton Campaign DID Ruin This Song, But...

 If they didn't grab "Don't Stop" from the Fleetwood Mac "Rumours" album, somebody else would have. So this isn't a partisan remark. And here's the thing. After 31 years, "Rumours" still goes down as one of the best of all time. No, I'm not some puffy nostalgist for 70s soft rock. But I give credit where credit is due.

So what's my point? Well, on my drive home from the gym this morning I heard a "Fleetwood Mac" song and thought how much I'd like to hear the "Rumours" album while eating breakfast. Now I don't own any Fleetwood Mac CDs. But I do have a Rhapsody subscription. And although Rhapsody really hasn't kept up with newer services such as Pandora in terms of freshness, flexibility, and social features...and although the Web interface in particular is a bit kludgy (and the client version is notoriously picky vis a vis corporate firewalls), some times I want to design my own listening experience. And other than Napster, I think Rhapsody is the only show in town for subscription music. And yes, subscription music services are pretty much D.O.A. People prefer to stream for free or own their music. Me? I pretty much do all of the above, and although I sometimes wince at the nearly $15/month subscription price for Rhapsody, the Star Trek Food Replicator-like experience of being able to pull down a wide range of music on the fly that I specifically want to hear still thrills me....simple pleasures.

Speaking of which, I just heard a song on Rhapsody that I actually own, and I might STRONGLY recommend that if you're looking for the perfect musical accompaniment for a warm and humid day (in the Bay area we're experiencing about as much humidity as we ever get...not much, but still much moister than usual), that you also shell out a buck and PURCHASE "Everybody Knows You're a Star" by Mellow Drunk. Hardly new, and perhaps not that original, I still think you'll like it. No really. Because I know your musical preferences. Trust me.

The Agony of Defeat

Want to see what death looks like up close? Then you should read today's Wall Street Journal front page article on General Motors. Better yet, join the conversation in this blog posting to vote on which GM brands the company should kill or sell off. My vote: 1) Hummer; 2) Saab. And perhaps Saturn would be better shepherded in someone else's hands.

Said post also includes a link to the aforementioned article. The impact of GM's continued faltering obviously has an enormously negative impact on our nation's economy. Or in layperson's terms: yowsah!

Respect the Office

Don't get me wrong. If you read this blog, you know I consider George W. Bush to be one of the worst presidents of the last 100 years, standing proudly alongside Jimmy Carter and Herbert Hoover. But too many U.S. citizens confuse freedom of speech with freedom to be disrespectful and show no signs of civility. A lot of people think liberals are particularly guilty as charged. But I'd put folks like Rush Limbaugh squarely in the disrespectful camp as well.

What's my point? I was on vacation last week but still saw the story about how some group in San Francisco is trying to get a measure on the ballot in November to approve changing the name of a municipal sewage treatment center to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant. While not a Bush fan, I don't think it's funny or cute. It doesn't reflect well on San Francisco, or for that matter on the U.S. that we would hold the office of the President in such low regard. And so before I blow off my few remaining fingers tonight with some illegal fireworks to commemorate the pending 232nd birthday of the USA, can I simply ask that we respect the office, and show some modicum of civility toward our President? You can loathe him, but don't be a jerk.

A Big Shame

So what did I miss while I was on vacation last week? Well, I stepped into a grocery store and saw Kirstie Alley on the front cover of the National Enquirer looking heavier than ever. Yes, I considered the source and didn't buy the magazine, but this has been on my mind ever since. And since the Enquirer doesn't see fit to include any print articles on its Web site, here is a blog post regarding this story, followed up by several hilarious comments, including some imaginative poster names such as "Curly Fry."

But I'm not laughing, and I'm not going to diss on Kirstie. Even though I'm not a fan, she is a human being and must be going through some enormous pain (no pun intended!), whether she is aware of it or not. I just think it's a huge shame. Kirstie is clearly a role model for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people around the world. So she takes goodness knows how much money from Jenny Craig, revitalizes her career, and then what...sends out a message that losing weight is impossible? I would assert the following:

• Yes, being thin is difficult, but...
• Being really obese or even morbidly obese is difficult as well
• It's mostly a head game (i.e., if you don't change your thought processes, you will remain overweight)
• It's mostly (i.e., 70%) about what you eat, and not about working out (and I love to work out)
• Americans are painfully ignorant about nutrition, and this ignorance permeates all economic and social classes
• Sure, it may be cheaper to eat crappy food like McDonald's, which could explain why lower income people are more disproportionately obese, but I think this is a cop-out as well.
• Why is it a cop out? Most of the major grocery chains offer private label frozen entrees that are reasonably good for you, and are dirt cheap. Safeway, for example, has its "Eating Right" line of frozen entrees. For Safeway card holders, these meals, which average around 300-350 calories each, are perpetually on sale for $2 each. Want to create your own Jenny Craig diet? Easy. Eat three of these entrees per day, plus a salad with tomatoes (yes, tomatoes!), a big fat apple, and a Balance Bar. Total calorie intake? Somewhere around 1500 calories per day. Most people will lose weight with this regimen. And they'll be incredibly bored. Tough shit. Oh, and total cost per day? Ten to eleven bucks per day. Oh, and don't forget the eight glasses of water. That would be good old fashioned tap water.
• Americans fill themselves with myths like having a slow versus a fast metabolism, having bad genes, etc. This isn't the case for most of us. What do I base this on? I'm old and have a lot of wisdom. Also, I read a great book a few years ago that I highly recommend, "The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan," by Barbara Rollins. Basic premise: a calorie is a calorie, and a calorie not burned is a calorie gained. Figure out your burn (Rollins offers a rough guide for doing so), and figure out your diet, preferably with bulky foods that increase satiety.
• I'm not sitting in the cheap seats here. I lost 40 pounds several years ago. So how did I become so heavy in the first place? Easy. My first job working in a company versus a PR firm, with its own cafeteria, had me eating bacon cheeseburgers and fries every day. My weight crept up to nearly 220 pounds, my waistline expanded to 38", and my blood pressure got too high.
• This issue is costing me and it's costing you. Every day and in every way. Your health insurance. Your taxes. Read the papers. Read the recent Time cover story regarding childhood obesity. 
• This is serious serious stuff. And I'm as serious as a heart attack regarding this post. I truly find this epidemic disturbing. Even in health conscious and affluent Incline Village, Nevada, I saw a noticeable increase in overweight people on the beach and in grocery stores compared to just a few years ago.
• And no, I'm not tired of reading about this stuff. How about you?

Surveying the Damage From the Celtics Win: No Shortage of Humor

I'll leave it to you to briefly surf the Web looking for the funniest quips regarding the hell-bent determinism of Boston Celtics fans to make a-holes of themselves by acting like buffoons and destroying property after their team won the first NBA championship in 22 years. In my mind, this is the most humorous post.

How to Be a Dude and Go to a Museum

Out of Touch

Do you remember that painfully awful "Hall & Oates" song from 1984 called "Out of Touch?" Well, John McCain gaining national press headlines regarding his intent to "call for building" 45 new nuclear reactors if elected President reveals a candidate who appears hopelessly out of touch. If this is seriously part of his platform, he will be massacred in November.

And JP in the East Bay, please don't send me hate email. You know I'm not a Dukakis chaser. I'm just calling it as I see it, and the way I see it, things don't look so good. For McCain.