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|Friday, October 25, 2013|
Food Freedom Friday: Antibiotic Use in Livestock
By Monica @ 1:05 PM
The Animal Agriculture Alliance released its response,
reassuring subtitles such as "Care," "Sustainability," "Improvement," "Responsible," "Safety," and "Advancement." This white paper naturally included an important foreword written by
Richard Raymond, Former Undersecretary for Food Safety Inspection Service at the USDA. Here we learn about growing up as a farm boy in Nebraska, replete with concerns about food insecurity, political unrest, empty stomachs, hungry children, and the threat that raw milk, hormone- and antibiotic-free meat, and bucking the FDA-approved use of antibiotics poses to the urgent task of feeding the world.
Meanwhile, growing evidence about antibiotic resistance linked to the nation's farms is actually a worrying sign in the threatening emergence of a post-antibiotic world. I'm not sure it’s Congress' job to deal with this problem, but it goes without saying that Congress has failed at stopping a lot of things that are bad for the public.
I don't necessarily agree with the path of getting to all of the proposed solutions in the Johns Hopkins report. They propose endpoints like phasing out and eventually banning the use of non-therapeutic antibiotics in livestock and increasing competition in the livestock industry. I'd rather focus on educating the public and repealing subsidies that help confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) clean up their waste and put the cost burden completely on them, instead of focusing on enforcing anti-trust law. The FDA as a model for protecting public health is defunct. When it comes to agriculture, the FDA is primarily a problem because it lives in cozy symbiosis with the very industries it was supposedly designed to regulate.
I think antibiotic resistance needs to be handled as a tort, but doing that will probably require more than eliminating the FDA. It would likely require a lot of changes to our country's laws, particularly the distortion of the original purpose of Right to Farm laws. Those laws were originally intended to protect farmers from new zoning regulations when the land surrounding them became suburbanized. Right to Farm laws now allow CAFOs -- producing as much fecal waste as the entire city of Philadelphia -- to set up shop in rural areas, pollute local air and water supplies, and destroy adjacent property values of the people who were there first. CAFOs aren't required to treat animal waste in the same aerobic digestion process as municipalities, which renders it a lot safer. As a result, water and air quality suffer, and antibiotic resistance spreads.
We also need to repeal Ag Gag laws in many states that essentially outlaw whistle-blowing activity in the agricultural industry. And I haven't even discussed how you get judges to think independently without relying on regulatory 'science.'
Government reform isn’t going to happen overnight, if ever. The movement in government is in the exact opposite direction: toward more centralized control, with industry cronies like Richard Raymond writing the rules that destroy the competition: healthy food. My free market critics don’t like it when I use language like that, but it’s the truth. The fact is that we don't have a socialist system: we have a fascist one where industry packs regulatory agencies with former executives, and they write the rules for the USDA and FDA. So instead, we get a flood of recently passed and proposed regulations that disproportionately harm supplement makers and small farmers, such as the Food Safety Modernization Act and the Supplement Labeling Act.
Of course, there is a huge awakening and a growing amount of public opposition in support of clean food, but as we are seeing in all areas of government these days (such as NSA spying), public opinion doesn't always result in any meaningful change in government, and therefore the hope of immediate reform is bleak. A significant number of people also still buy into the propaganda about the necessity of
mass surveillance without warrants using antibiotics non-therapeutically in 100% of livestock, in order to move forward in keeping us safe fed in the War on Terror War on Hunger.
So, to change this situation makes it imperative that people actually become aware of shortsighted Big Ag/Big Gov industry practices that are proving to be a disaster in the long run. There is still enough choice left in the market to take action to protect yourself. Think of buying clean meat to protect you from Big Ag/FDA/USDA as putting a Faraday cage around your iPhone to protect you from Booz Allen Hamilton/NSA. We wouldn’t be in this situation if consumers had, in large enough numbers, raised questions about this 40 years ago, just as we wouldn’t be staring down an Orwellian NSA spying program if the Patriot Act hadn’t overwhelmingly passed among 99% of legislators as a good idea. And that's why I share information like this: because people don’t yet understand that for them to have $1/lb. chicken or $2/lb pork, someone else is probably paying in polluted water and air, or a MRSA infection.
Change starts with us. Please consider knowing where your meat, eggs, and milk come from, and refuse to buy from sources that are using questionable practices that endanger others.
Here are potential resources:
|Tuesday, October 8, 2013|
Sticky Issues in Property Rights: Cross-Pollination of GM Corn with... GM Corn
By Monica @ 3:01 PM
Policy analysts at the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights continue to discuss Seralini's widely hyped but year-old rat study on GM corn for the third week in a row (only one in around a hundred studies indicating concerns), perpetuating the myth that only radical environmentalists have concerns about GM crops. Argument by picture is a problem, but meanwhile, in the alternate universe known as the real world, there remains actual policy that needs to be analyzed with regard to GM crops, and more widely, cross-pollination law.
In this article, Is Ethanol GM Corn a Disaster Waiting to Happen?, we learn from the corn milling industry and a corn breeder who worked for Syngenta for 20 years, that cross-pollination with a newly developed variety of GM corn with superior traits for ethanol (Syngenta's Enogen) could be devastating to the food industry, because even small amounts of Enogen corn kernels could destroy the texture for corn chips, as they have a heat-tolerant enzyme that destroys starch.
In a bizarre twist of events, it's not just environmentalists who are concerned about certain varieties of GM corn. It's entire industry associations who already use GM corn, like North American Millers Association (NAMA), which represent nearly 4 dozen major food companies including ConAgra and General Mills.
Disturbingly, since four times as much corn is grown for ethanol as it is for food in the US, it's almost a dead certainty that if acreage for Enogen corn increases, we'll see such contamination events, according to the article. 5,000 acres of Enogen were grown in 2012, and 60,000 acres were grown in 2013. The goal is to capture the market for ethanol-based corn: 2.5 million acres.
Some select quotes:
"At a biotechnology conference in Iowa in 2011, Jim Bair, NAMA vice president, criticized the US government’s regulations of GM crops, saying they had been “cobbled together with bailing wire and duct tape.”
"It would only take one kernel of Enogen GM corn mixed with 10,000 kernels of food corn to ruin the food processing abilities of food corn, according to NAMA."
"If a food company were to find Enogen corn mixed with food corn, Clarkson predicts they would sue. “I would expect the suit to be against Syngenta and perhaps the USDA and/or the FDA,” he says."
The entire article is well worth reading.
Fluid entities such as air, water, and pollen present special issues with respect to property rights: one that free market advocates need to address by consulting with scientific and law experts. I'm not prepared to say how cross-pollination issues should be addressed in a free market, but the fact is that such issues extend even beyond GM varieties. Canola was recently banned in the Willamette Valley of Oregon because it cross-pollinates with other brassicas, and could destroy the seed industry in that region.
If free market organizations want to be taken seriously on matters of individual and property rights, they have to acknowledge and begin to discuss potential solutions for such problems. I'll be writing more about cross-pollination issues in the future.
|Saturday, September 28, 2013|
More Pasture Than You Might Think: A Breakdown of Farmland in the United States
By Monica @ 11:02 AM
I thought it would be interesting to share a graph on the breakdown of farmland in the United States. These data come from the USDA's Economic Research Service.
Note: The Y axis is the amount of acreage in thousands of acres.
Thus, 370,000 actually means 370,000,000.
In a discussion yesterday, I was asked if it would actually be feasible in terms of land use to be able to produce cattle in the US by grass-finishing instead of grain-finishing in feedlots. In other words, would we really have space to grow all those cows if we returned to the old methods?
I found that USDA statistics
show that in 2007, 2 billion bushels of corn were used to produce 22.16 billion lb. of grain-fed beef. At an average of 150 bushels/acre of corn, this converts to 13.3 million acres used to produce feed grains. This means that for 2007, converting all
beef production to grass-based finishing would require an additional 26.6 million acres of pasture/grass.
That seems like a lot, until you consider that it's only around 4% of the 613 million acres of pasture that actually existed in 2007. It's amazing just how many commodity crops we grow on so little land. Even more amazing is that only around 20% of field corn produced in the US feeds humans -- either domestically or overseas -- while approximately 40% feeds cattle, and 40% feeds cars. What's also remarkable to me about these data is just how stable the amount of cropland and pastureland have been over time.
Can Pastured Food Be Stopped?
By Monica @ 12:07 PM
In this short article The End of Pastured Food?, Robert Gammon contemplates whether the FDA and Big Organic are going to be successful in shutting down old-style pastured farming in relation to the new, absurd egg regulations that will put certified organic hens inside a building for their entire lives, never to see a blade of grass. The entire article is well worth reading.
My answer? No, this isn't "the end of pastured food." Not by a long shot. Americans are, in ever increasing numbers, returning to their agricultural roots and wanting to know how their food is produced.
Many Americans want Exhibit A:
Not Exhibit B:
Yet FDA regulations propose to make Exhibit A illegal, even for USDA Organic eggs!!
Americans will continue to demand pastured animal products in larger and larger numbers. Big Agra, Big Organic, the USDA, and the FDA (which are all synonymous now, living in a happy symbiosis) are resisting this, and I predict that if these regulations go forward, producers of pastured eggs will abandon the USDA Organic label in order to cater to their customers.
Pastured food cannot be stopped. Americans are waking from a decades-long slumber. They are realizing that our country has gone insane, and that we need to purge the fascists in our government at all levels and get back to the basics on which this country was founded.
HT to Cheeseslave for the photos.
Food Freedom Friday: GMO labeling
By Monica @ 10:41 AM
Most people are aware that there is a huge movement toward mandated labeling of foods containing GMOs. This push is now occurring at the state level, even though Prop 38 failed in California. Now, in a bizarre twist of fate, there's a proposal from General Mills CEO to do the exact opposite: mandate that everything *not* containing a GMO be labeled. Karma's a bitch, ain't it?
I've never been supportive of labeling mandates. For one thing, the FDA is about as scientific as the Catholic Church. Consider these facts.
1) The FDA allows beta carotene to be listed as Vitamin A under Nutrition Facts labels.
2) Foods labeled as free of trans fats are not actually free of trans fats.
3) Independent studies have found that not all eggs are created equally.
4) The FDA supports labeling of foods as certified gluten-free that are not technically gluten-free.
Those are just four examples where the FDA gets labeling wrong. (I discuss another example at the bottom of this article.) You have no way of knowing the extent of incorrect information on the Nutrition Facts label when you buy a food. More fundamentally, I oppose mandated labels on the basic principle that any action should be legal unless it's fraudulent.
Currently, the FDA allows voluntary labeling of food with regard to whether it has GMOs or not. And with that in mind, here's a thought. Voluntary labeling already exists in the form of USDA Organic and Non-GMO Project verified. And honestly, it's really only an issue if you eat foods that come in a box or a can or contain highly processed ingredients, since whole foods (organic or not) are almost exclusively non-GMO apart from a minority of Hawaiian papaya, squash, and zucchini. In fact, to make it even simpler, here are ten apps to help you eat non-GMO, if you care. Look at that. I just told you how you can tell whether foods are GMO, and I did it without spending a penny.
What about labeling on the other side? To my knowledge, it doesn't exist, because the food industry doesn't want to. And that's what so hilariously bogus about the claims of the food industry. The entire argument of food processing companies revolves around the idea that the American public is, by and large, just too dumb and scientifically illiterate to comprehend how awesome their products are, so they need to be protected by the FDA.
Maybe these companies could re-learn the American capitalist mentality that existed in the good ole days, where they are actually proud of the products they produce and seek to educate the public about them, rather than capturing regulatory agencies to rubber-stamp their activities, all the while spending close to $100 million to be deliberately obscurantist. What a concept. I suggest this label: "This product was proudly produced using biotechnology!" or perhaps this: "We use GMOs and we think they're great!"
If you can't educate consumers about your product and you have to rely on the protection of the FDA to keep the market share you have, you might not deserve that market share. This is why rBST-milk has largely gone the way of the Dodo Bird, despite Monsanto and Eli Lilly spending tens of millions on numerous lawsuits to protect the American public from free speech, until they and the FDA were finally slapped down in court in 2010. This may also be why the market share for organic food has grown at twice the percentage as conventional food each year for the past decade, and is predicted to balloon from its current 6% of the market to 30% of the market in just four more years.
|Wednesday, September 2, 2009|
Food Producers Threaten to "Go Galt"
By Monica @ 12:45 PM
Over the past several months, there's been an enormous wave of concern over "Obamacare." Even the CEO of Whole Foods condemned Obama's healthcare plan. Some doctors have even threatened to go on strike. I highly recommend a good resource on the current "healthcare" debacle: We Stand Firm.
But much less attention has been given to some recent food legislation bills. However, the proposed increase in "food safety" regulations are having the exact same effect: producers of food are threatening to go on strike.
I've written about the most recent legislation in question, HR 2749, here. From a BusinessWeek article by David Gumpert entitled Small Food Producers Question Greater FDA Powers, here's a brief summary of HR 2749:
There's a big push in Washington to pass new food safety legislation. The House has already passed a major bill, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, which would significantly expand the Food & Drug Administration's authority to oversee food companies, and the Senate is expected to act on a similar version once its recess ends after Labor Day. President Barack Obama has indicated he will sign whatever the legislators finally approve.
The intensive action is coming in response to a number of highly publicized food recalls involving everything from peanut butter to spinach to cookie dough to raw hamburger over the last three years. The new law would seem to reduce the chances of food contamination by clamping down on producers—requiring detailed, written, quality plans, more frequent FDA inspections, and tough penalties for violations.
These "written food safety plans" have been estimated to cost thousands of dollars to enact.
If the idea of medical service providers going on strike bothers you, how about producers of food? Sound too implausible to be true? David Gumpert writes:
For Destandau, the latest federal efforts to crack down on food producers is part of a long-term trend. When he started in business in 2003, he had one inspector to deal with, from the California Food & Agriculture Dept. Now he deals with more frequent and costlier inspections from both the CDFA and the county health department. As Destandau contemplates the addition of FDA inspectors, he considers leaving the U.S. entirely. "Right now, we are seriously looking at moving to Australia," he says.
Of course, as with healthcare, the increased regulatory burden would not cause food production to grind to a swift halt. However, a certain number of food producers would simply stop producing -- and quality and choice would gradually decline over the coming years and decades.
The true answer to food-borne illness is a free market. That means de-regulating large and small producers alike and de-regulating things like raw milk. Smaller food producers and small farmers often like to mention that large food producers cause food-borne illness on a much wider scale and it is harder to track. These points are true, but overall, food-borne illness rates are remarkably low.
Even so, mistakes, negligence, and fraud all happen. No amount of regulation will take that fact away. Producers, if they make a mistake or commit fraud, should be held responsible for the food they produce. One of these means is through objective tort law. Consumers also need to be responsible. In 2009, one would expect various third party inspection organizations to eventually crop up in the absence of the FDA. (They already exist for organic certification, and the standards are more stringent than the USDA's. It should be noted that organizations like NOFA pre-date the USDA organic certification program.)
100 years of experience with the FDA's "food safety" regulations ought to be enough to convince Americans that more nannying by the FDA isn't the answer. We don't need more food safety regulations, irradiation mandates, food bans, and the like. Here are some results of flawed FDA and USDA policies. An Ayn Rand quote is apropo: "One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary."
If HR 2749 passes, there will be one sure result: reduced quantity and quality at your farmer's markets, local farms, and meat and veggie CSA as they become unable to cope with the costly regulatory burden. Eventually it would happen in the grocery store too. Let's not let it.
Labels: "Safety", Government Idiocy


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According to Microsoft, Windows 10 and 11 users may experience a bug preventing Outlook and other apps from launching after installing the latest Patch Tuesday update (KB5027231, released on June 13, 2023). The company has updated its Windows Health Dashboard documentation to provide the necessary details about the problem and offer affected customers a workaround.
Microsoft says the bug affects 32-bit Office installed on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 (client versions 22H2 and 21H2, plus Windows Server 2022). Even though Microsoft changed the default Office installation from 32-bit to 64-bit in 2018, many people may still be using 32-bit Office. However, you need a specific antivirus and a specific version to experience the problem—according to Microsoft, the issue occurs on systems using Trellix Endpoint Security version earlier than 35.31.25.
After installing KB5027231 or later updates on Windows devices with certain antivirus, antimalware or security software installed, you might not be able to open Microsoft or third-party apps. Some known affected apps are Microsoft Outlook and other Microsoft Office apps. This issue only occurs with 32-bit apps running on 64-bit Windows with Trellix Endpoint Security version earlier than 35.31.25. When attempting to open an affected app, Event Log indicates an access violation with the error "module is unknown". This issue is not likely to be encountered by consumers using Windows devices in their home.
Affected customers can resolve the problem by updating Trellix Endpoint Security Agent to version 35.31.25 and newer. Although Microsoft has only mentioned Trellix Endpoint Security Agent, other antivirus apps might cause the same problem. Therefore, the company recommends that those using other anti-malware solutions and experiencing issues with Office apps should contact customer support of the security software they use.
You can learn more about the problem with Outlook not opening on Windows 10 and 11 after the June Patch Tuesday update in the official Windows Health Dashboard documentation.

domain: news


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Silent Circle, makers of smart phones and tablets with an emphasis on secure communications, announced its Blackphone 2 and Blackphone+, its entry into the tablet market.
The products were unveiled at the Mobile World Congress, along with an update to the company's secure operating system, PrivatOS 1.1. The OS, which is a modified version of Android 4.4.2, places emphasis on encryption for internet browsing, telephone calls, and instant messaging.
While the phone itself is a more powerful version of its earlier phone, the biggest improvement to the security-minded niche Silent Circle is carving out for itself is in the OS's new virtualization abilities. "It keeps enterprise and personal apps and data completely separate," the company said, adding that the managed enterprise space can be "locked and wiped" as needed by IT administrators.
This is good news in a world where corporate hacks are more prevalent. Silent Circle co-founder Phil Zimmerman pointed to the recent Sony hacks, the fallout of which led to the resignation of Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal. In a statement to cnet, Zimmerman said that enterprises "have a responsibility to up their game to protect the privacy of their own people and their partners."
A recent report showed the US and UK governments worked together to capture the cryptographic keys to SIM cards used by over 450 mobile providers the world over.
The phone and tablet are slated to arrive in the second half of 2015.


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With the closing of Pandemic Studios, maker of Mercenaries and The Saboteur, and most of its staff now out of a job, things have been looking gloomy. But during such a sad time, you've always got to look on the brighter side -- this is exactly what's been done, as evidenced by the video up there.
Hopefully you have all seen the film Office Space by now, but if not, it's still fun to watch a few ex-Pandemic dudes beat the Christ out of a printer. The video, which was found by Kotaku, is supposed to be legit. As in, that was the company's actual printer.
Damn it feels good to be a gangsta.
It came out this week that social gaming giant Zynga had laid off 520 employees (approximately 18 percent of its global workforce), which ended up meaning full office closures in some cases. Joining the shutdowns in New York,...more
Sad news been handed down to many employees of the massive social game developer Zynga, as the company is reportedly cutting loose 520 staff members. That's around 18 percent of the company workforce. As part of the cuts, the...more
Japanese mobile and social game publisher GREE has laid off roughly 30 people at its San Francisco offices, GamesIndustry reports. "We have recently aligned GREE's US studio to focus on creating the next generation of mobile ...more


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The popular competitive vehicular soccer game Rocket League will soon be free to play.
After first launching in 2015, the game is celebrating its fifth anniversary this summer. And while it has sold over 10 million copies to date, developer Psyonix is looking to expand its reach even more. The game is already free to play for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.
According to Psyonix, the free-to-play update also includes a “fresh coat of paint” for the game’s menus. “Menus are getting an overhaul to make the experience more manageable, and major features are being improved like Tournaments and game-wide Challenges to unlock items,” the developer says.
Existing players will be able to keep their existing inventory of customization items. In addition, the company has announced the following bonuses for anyone who played prior to the launch of the free-to-play version:
- All Rocket League-branded DLC packs released before free to play
- “Est. 20XX” title that displays the first year you played Rocket League
- 200+ Common items upgraded to “Legacy” quality
- Golden Cosmos Boost
- Dieci-Oro Wheels
- Huntress Player Banner
Also coming later this year is an Epic Games Store version of the game. Epic purchased developer Psyonix in May 2019. The Epic Games Store version will support cross-platform play with Steam, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.


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Famed sports car manufacturer Lotus is sick of seeing everyone else use their platform for electric applications. They're now reportedly looking to get into the green game with a high-performance electric vehicle all their own.
“Don’t be surprised to see an electric Lotus shortly,” Michael Kimberley, the chief executive of Lotus told the Financial Times. “We are working on the technologies that will go behind it. It will become of the showcases for the world of what you can do with electric vehicle technology.”
Unlike the Lotus Europa-based Dodge EV or the Lotus Elise-based Tesla Roadster, Lotus’s own brand EV will be a range extended electric vehicle like the Chevy Volt. That means an onboard gasoline engine will recharge the battery, enabling ranges that extend beyond the capacity of the batteries.
Little else is known about the vehicle, but rumor has it that it could be based on the four-seat Lotus Evora and premier as early as the Geneva Motor Show in March.
With its history of technological innovation and ability to engineer and produce world-beating, small production run vehicles, Lotus could be the company to finally put an honest electric production vehicle in customers driveways and not just on the floor of auto shows. Similar vehicles from Tesla, Fisker and GM are currently little more than vaporware. [The Financial Times via Autoblog]


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Facebook Inc. sold 180 million of its shares in its initial public stock offering. Another 241.2 million came from existing stockholders, including the company's earliest investors and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Even after the IPO, Zuckerberg remains Facebook's single largest shareholder, with 503.6 million shares. And he will control the company with 56 percent of its voting stock.
The IPO sold at $38 per share, generating $6.8 billion for Facebook and $9.2 billion, collectively, for existing stockholders.
Here's a look at early Facebook Inc. investors who sold stock in the IPO, how much money they gained and how many shares they still own. Most of the social network's early funders never publicly disclosed how much they invested in the company.
— Mark Zuckerberg
Number of shares sold: 30.2 million
Value: $1.15 billion
Number of shares still owned: 503.6 million
— James Breyer and Accel Partners, where he's a partner
Year invested in Facebook: 2005
Number of shares sold: 49 million
Value: $1.86 billion
Number of shares still owned: 152.3 million
— Peter Thiel, managing partner at The Founders Fund and PayPal co-founder
Year invested in Facebook: 2004
Amount invested: $500,000
Number of shares sold: 16.8 million
Value: $640 million
Number of shares still owned: 27.9 million
— DST Global Ltd. and affiliates, a London-based investment firm focused on Internet companies, founded by Russian investor Yuri Milner
Year invested in Facebook: 2009 and late 2010
Number of shares sold: 45.7 million
Value: $1.74 billion
Number of shares still owned: 85.6 million
— Goldman Sachs and affiliates, investment bank and one of the IPO's underwriters
Year invested in Facebook: 2011
Continue reading this story on the...


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Jason Goldman, Twitter's VP of product, has announced at the LeWeb Conference that he is stepping down from his role and instead is taking on an advisory role at the company. Goldman says that he announced his departure to his team on Friday. He is not leaving for any specific company or project, but didn't explain exactly why he is leaving the company. He did mention that the discussions about his departure began after Evan Williams stepped down as CEO of the company.
4 Recent Stories
Twitter is about to make the biggest change to its interface in years when it adds photos and videos in the stream. What will it look like? Will it be a game-changer, or will Twitter's users revolt? Does Twitter have a few surprise announcements prepared? We're live here at Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco to find out. Twitter HQ is electric with energy, and it feels like Twitter's got even more up its sleeve than has been leaked so far.
Rounding off the first-ever Twitter developer conference, Chirp, was a lightning-fast roundup of a few apps the Twitter team found fascinating enough to showcase for the 1000-hacker crowd. Each team got exactly 140 seconds to present their wares, and all showcasing apps were judged by an all-star lineup that included moderator and Twitter product VP Jason Goldman, Marissa Mayer of Google, Y-Combinator founder Paul Graham and Blippy co-founder Philip Kaplan.
At the final panel of the night for the Chirp Twitter conference, Twitter's key executives are answering the audience's questions. It's a free-for-all of Q&A. The executives on stage: VP Product Jason Goldman, COO Dick Costolo, Director of Platform Ryan Sarver, CEO Evan Williams, and Co-Founder Biz Stone.


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AARP unleashes 'Rx Price Watch' report
The association rebranded its latest report “Rx Price Watch” to mark a switch to retail prices, or the amount that is actually charged to consumers (and/or insurers), as the primary data source. AARP adopted the Thomson Reuters MarketScan Research Databases, which compares the rate of inflation with changes in retail price charged to consumers ages 50 and older enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans.Even with the different methodology, findings paralleled the association's earlier “Watchdog” reports: The new report showed that prices for 217 widely used brand name drugs climbed 8.3% in 2009 (compared to manufacturer increases of 9.3%). That's higher than the rate of increase during any single year since 2004 and far greater than the inflation rate during the last five years, which has fallen 0.3%, the report noted.
PhRMA called the new report “distorted and misleading” because it didn't reflect generic drugs, which account for 75% of prescribing. But AARP said most of the drugs surveyed are still under patent, with no generics available.
“For the first time, we know that brand name drug retail prices are growing just as quickly as manufacturer prices,” said John Rother, AARP EVP, in a statement.


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For the last few months, marketers and advertisers have finally had to reckon with the fallout of Google’s crumbling third-party cookie amid an increasingly fragmented media landscape. Meaning, targeting and measurement are getting harder to do. However, it’s something Liz Mella, director of marketing for Farmer’s Fridge, has been tasked with working through as the food vending company is without an e-commerce point of sale.
With more than 1,000 locations nationwide in airports, hospitals, office buildings, universities and more, Mella said Farmer’s Fridge’s business model has required non-traditional marketing strategies. “We are looking into doing things, like we’re buying media at the exact point of purchase,” she said in a recent interview with Digiday. “But there’s no easy, silver bullet approach to this. It’s really doing a lot of small things to build the amplifier effect of media.”
The original post is at Marketing Archives – Digiday


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China’s undisputed leader in games and social media Tencent paid a rich price for a controlling stake in Supercell, the Finnish maker of popular smartphone distraction Clash of Clans. The $8.6 billion deal almost doubled Supercell’s valuation to more than $10 billion in just a year. Tencent is no stranger to overseas deals, but this is its biggest. What’s important here?
1. Tencent just became a lot bigger
Already worth $200 billion on the public markets, Tencent will capture 13% of the $100 billion global games market this year thanks to Supercell and Clash of Clans, says researcher Newzoo. This should cement its global number one spot in online games.
Tencent doesn’t get the same attention as China’s other tech giants Alibaba and Baidu, in large part because it doesn’t want it. Company executives hardly ever consent to interviews. But after earning $4.5 billion on $15.8 billion in sales last year, Tencent is every bit as financially powerful as tech leader Alibaba. And its newly acquired Supercell is no slouch: the Helsinki-based company earned $780 million last year, mostly selling add-ons to its free games.
2. Tencent cares about expanding, but not necessarily abroad.
This isn’t the first time Tencent has gone shopping in the West. In 2011, it bought Riot Games, the Los Angeles-based maker of League of Legends, which is the highest-grossing PC game. But these purchases are about pleasing domestic gamers. Tencent wants to expand its domination of the China games market and needs hot foreign titles to satiate Chinese players. Clash of Clans is already well known in China, having been released on Android app stores in late 2013. The game was downloaded 200,000 times in its first month, but Tencent can expand the popularity through its platforms.
The fact that Supercell’s top four games combined have 100 million daily players internationally is a bonus. Tencent gets a little diversification into foreign markets, where it earns less than 10% of its revenues, without much effort.
3. Tencent won’t be known as a social media company anytime soon.
Online games drove more than half of Tencent’s $15 billion in sales last year. That happened even as WeChat, the company’s answer to Facebook and China’s most popular social network, grew to 700 million users. A few years ago analysts questioned how Tencent would adapt to slowing PC game revenue, then responsible for the bulk of its revenues. WeChat was emerging as the answer. But then mobile games exploded, and Tencent has gone back to doing what it does best: games.


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Massive for the Masses
Three years ago at CES 2010, Dell teased us with a 5" phone-tablet running Android, the first of its kind. After only a year of sales, it was quietly discontinued in North America due to poor sales. Ultimately, it was a flop for Dell's first attempt at a phone.
One year later, Samsung had released its own 5" phone, the Galaxy Note. Samsung had just come off of creating an amazing Galaxy line of phones with the success of the SII almost half a year prior. In many respects, the Note was comparable to the Streak except for one defining feature: the Note had come with the S Pen and a slew of apps to take advantage of this pen accessory. The Note turned out to be a huge success, selling ten million units only a year after hitting the shelves. This was no small feat for any phone manufacturer, but for Samsung, this could be seen as a failure seeing as how the very first Galaxy I phone reached the same milestone in just over seven months; the Galaxy S II accomplished this in only five months; and Samsung’s now three-month-old flagship, the Galaxy S III, had reached the milestone in just a little over two months. A year after the release of the original Galaxy Note, Samsung released the Galaxy Note II, which is projected to hit the ten million sales number in Q1 of 2013.
Fast forward three years from the Dell Streak teaser at CES 2013, the crowd has finally caught on. Phone manufacturers like Sony, Lenovo, ZTE, Alcatel, and Vizio are trying to catch up to the hype of the 5” phone, each releasing its own version. HTC released its version in October in the Japanese market and a month later in the US market through mobile network carrier Verizon. LG released a 5” phone that also came with a pen in mid July as a direct competitor to the Galaxy Note. Huawei is even being so bold as to release a 6.1” device, further blurring the line between phone and tablet. But with two years of experience and an established market presence, will Samsung feel any sales pressure on its Galaxy Note lineup devices?
Moral of the story: an innovative idea does not mean you will succeed.


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Phone Graphics In Mobile Gaming To Match PS4 Graphics Within A Year
It is not unknown that the graphics in smartphones and tablets have improved significantly in the last few years but according to ARM, a producer of mobile graphics processors it is said that the graphics will match those of PS4 and Xbox consoles within the next year or so.
Speaking at the Casual Connect conference in Amsterdam, as reported by VentureBeat, ARM’s ecosystem director Nizar Romdan said “If you take today’s high-end smart phone or tablet, the performance is already better than Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It’s catching up quickly with Xbox One and PlayStation 4.”
Romdan has predicted that the mobile processing power will be around 2 tera FLOPS (floating operations per second) by the end of 2017 which is more than the PS4 or Xbox One.
That being said it doesn’t account for the mobile gaming problems such as battery life and overheating of the device. However Romdan believes that this growth will be a boon for smartphones especially with the technology advances of virtual reality.
“Our view is that mobile VR is the use case that could unlock the potential of mobile for hardcore gamers,” he said. “For once, mobile devices are on par with PC and consoles in terms of experience . We won’t have the same processing. And battery life is a problem. But it is the same user experience. That could be a game changer for mobile gaming.”


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CVG extends Starbucks, other restaurant and shop hours to serve late-night Wow Air passengers
Wow Air passengers will have one last shot to grab a Starbucks espresso or latte before catching their redeye flight to Iceland from CVG after airport officials announced extended hours for the coffee shop and other stores.
The following stores will be open until 1 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays when Wow Air flies out of CVG (Wednesdays will be added in June):
• Max & Erma's
• Duty-Free Americas
• Heritage Books
• CNBC News/Gifts
• Graycliff Smoking Lounge
Coffee aficionados should grab one last drink before their flight – there are no Starbucks in Iceland.


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Tablets and their users were the overwhelming message this week at the TV of Tomorrow conference in New York. And while the new multiscreen world is opening up new revenue streams, it’s also putting an enormous amount of pressure on content companies to build apps.
Dyle, backed by a consortium that includes NBC, Fox and station owners, launches for Apple’s iOS devices today. The service brings legal, live television to mobile devices, but with a few strings attached.
Early results of the research into reach, duration, frequency and page views of consumers’ iPad apps and Web usage will be presented at today’s ARF re:Think Conference.
NBC on Feb. 8 will roll out a new documentary series, Hidden Planet, featuring foreign correspondent Richard Engel that will stream directly to the iPad via the Rock Center app.
An internal memo says the devices will be given to its newspaper staffs to “meet the demands of the new news cycle, one that requires agility in real-time reporting, social media and greater emphasis on video storytelling, further increasing our competitive advantage.”
As the Young Broadcasting CBS affiliate readies its new high-definition studio, robotic cameras and editing systems, it’s also getting rid of paper scripts for its anchors, moving to iPads.


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The mobile handset maker will invest Rs195 crore in product development and marketing expenses during current financial year and Rs250 crore in next financial year
New Delhi: Mobile device maker Karbonn on Thursday said it will invest Rs445 crore in brand promotion and product development in the next two years, and expects its revenues to touch Rs3,500 crore by 2013-14, reports PTI.
"We are extending our portfolio to target customers of high socio-economic class. We will continue as 'value for money' brand. Our estimate is that we should have Rs2,500 crore in revenues this fiscal and Rs3,500 crore in FY14," Pradeep Jain, managing director, Karbonn Mobile told reporters.
The company will invest Rs195 crore in product development and marketing expenses during the ongoing financial year and Rs250 crore in next financial year.
"Last year we invested Rs150 crore which has shown the result. We grew faster than other Indian brands. We are expanding service centres. Presently, there are over 650 service centres and by FY14 we will have 1,000 centres," Shashin Devsare, executive director, Karbonn Mobile said.
The company is looking to 15% market share by end of FY14 from 6% it has in FY12.
The company today launched its first tablet on Google' Android platform with 1.2 Ghz processor for Rs6,990 and unveiled three new smartphones on Google Android's Gingerbread platform in the price range of Rs5,790 to Rs9,490.
Internet on the tablet unveiled by the company can be operated using wi-fi service or 3G dongles.
The company's high-end smartphone has 1 Ghz processor, 5 megpixel camera and a front camera to support video calling facility.
"We are planning to launch four new smartphone and three new tablets in next three months. Karbonn will be first Indian company to launch smartphone of Google's Icecream Sandwich platform which is next version of Android after Gingerbread," Devsare said.
The company will launch 9.7 inch screen size tablet in September on Google's Jelly Bean platform.
In the smart device range, Karbonn will provide push mail service and instant messenger of its own.
"These services will be free for first year. We have tied up with foreign vendor for this who has customised this application to suit our customer's need," Devsare said.
The Postal department’s FY revenues increased 13% due to higher contribution from financial services, however, its deficit fell to a 10 year low
New Delhi: Mirroring signs of revival, the Department of Posts (DoP) has registered the highest decline in deficit in more than 10 years at Rs550.73 crore in 2011-12 on the back of increase in revenues, mainly from financial services, reports PTI.
Total revenues of the department in 2011-12 rose by 13.62% to Rs7,910.51 crore while expenditure stood at Rs13,705.4 crore, leaving a deficit of Rs5,794.89 crore.
In the previous fiscal, DoP had revenues of Rs6,962.33 crore and expenditure of Rs13,307.95 crore, reflecting a gap of Rs6,345.62 crore.
DoP's deficit had jumped over 80% to Rs6,641.30 crore in 2009-10 from Rs3,593.09 crore in 2008-09 due to implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission's recommendations.
“In the last one year we have developed an integrated strategy to make India Post, commercially and socially relevant. The financial performance of the last year indicates that we have succeeded to an extent. But a lot more need to be done,” Minister for Communications and IT Kapil Sibal told PTI.
According to the Financial Performance report prepared by Department of Posts for 2011-2012, revenues from financial services grew by 20.8% at Rs4,304.07 crore in 2011-12 compared to Rs3,562.77 crore in FY'11.
Revenue from postal operations grew by 6.08% to Rs3,606.44 crore in 2011-12 from Rs3,399.56 crore it registered in FY'11.
Sibal said that he is expecting revenue of DoP to grow by 20% in the current financial year.
“This financial year we are targeting revenue increase of plus 20%. I am happy that India Post is moving in the right direction. Now we need to increase our speed,” he said.
DoP has appointed Boston Consulting Group to prepare an appropriate business structure for the emerging and premium services of India Post.
The postal department has floated expression of interest to appoint a consultant for preparing detailed project report (DPR) of its ambitious Post Bank projects and this report is expected to be finalised by end of this calendar year.
“The Post Bank project will rejuvenate financial services offered through post offices,” Sibal said.
DoP has already announced to set-up 1000 ATMs across country as part of its financial services.
Sibal has also asked DoP introduce premium logistics services in select 80 to 90 cities within six months to tap the expanding e-commerce market in the country and enhance its revenue by 15%.
In its ongoing transformation process, the department entered into a partnership with state-run telecom company BSNL to provide money order service using mobile phones for which it expects to start pilot project by September 2012.
Alstom Projects will design and supply pressure parts for the supercritical boilers for NTPC’s project in Maharashtra
Alstom Projects wins orders worth Rs530 crore from BHEL to assist the latter in erecting and commissioning 660-MW supercritical boilers. The scope of work includes designing the boilers and supplying pressure parts for the supercritical boilers. The units will be commissioned in 2016.
Alstom Projects will produce the critical components at its facilities in US and India.
The supercritical boilers are required at NTPC sites in Mouda, Maharashtra.


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Williamson County student entrepreneurs to showcase their small businesses Friday
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WSMV) -All are welcome to see local high school students showcase small businesses they’ve created this Friday, April 29th, from 7 am to 3 pm. The event will be held in the Franklin High School Annex, located at 104 Claude Yates Drive, Franklin, TN.
The students have applied what they’ve learned at the Williamson County Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (EIC) and developed businesses with the help of mentors and coaches. The EIC teaches and guides students from many high schools across the county.
Some of the businesses on display will be for designed swimwear, Chromebook cases, and do-it-yourself bake kits, among others.
The Williamson County EIC is instrumental in shaping the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Through the program, students in 10th through 12th grade gain insight, knowledge, and hands-on experience in brainstorming ideas for businesses & seeing those ideas come to fruition.
Copyright 2022 WSMV. All rights reserved.


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HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland’s Nokian Tyres is shifting production of some of its key product lines from Russia to Finland and the United States to prepare for possible further sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the company said on Friday.
The business is one of many grappling with how to respond as Russian forces sweep across Ukraine, although most have tended to focus on closing or moving operations in Ukraine while taking a more wait-and-see approach to Russia.
While running its factory near Saint Petersburg at full capacity, Nokian has begun transporting tyres out of Russia to warehouses closer to its customers, a spokesperson told Reuters
She said not all products made in Russia could be made at Finnish or U.S plants and added no sanctions were currently affecting Nokian’s Russian business.
The company also could not say whether the move would be temporary or permanent as the situation is evolving.
The tyre maker has been ramping up production in Finland and the United States to respond to increasing demand, but still produces approximately 80% of its annual capacity of 20 million tyres in Russia, where it employs around 1,600 people, the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Essi Lehto Editing by Susan Fenton and Mark Potter)


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Organised by the Secretary of State for Trade, ICEX, FEPEX and IFEMA The 11th edition of Fruit Attraction will host, for the third consecutive year, the World Fresh Forum, which will present the existing business opportunities and commercial challenges in the countries invited to this edition: China, Singapore and India. Organised by the Secretary of State for Trade, ICEX Spain Exportation and Investments, IFEMA and FEPEX, the World Fresh Forum will take place on 23 and 24 October, the second and third day of the fair in the IFEMA Press Room (on the 1st floor of the office building).
The first day, 23 October, will be dedicated to the market in China. The fruit market in China is experiencing rapid growth and agricultural productive capacity is expanding significantly, with an increase of 15% in the period 2012-2017 and an average growth of 2.8%. Spanish exports to China have grown at an average rate of 146.38% in the last 4 years, from just 1.3 million euros in 2014 to over 29 million euros in 2018. Spain currently has protocols for the export of citrus fruit (oranges, lemons, tangerines and grapefruit), stone fruit (peaches, nectarines, Paraguayans and plums) and, since this September, also for table grapes.
This opens up a stage which offers high-potential opportunities for the export of fruit with protocols already having been signed. An in-depth knowledge on how the sector operates and on the specific demands of fruit importers is essential. All this will be analysed by those responsible for the Administration, both of MAPA and MINCOTUR and by the Chinese importers and distributors who will participate in the session. The notable differences between Mainland China and the special area of Hong Kong regarding the entry and export of fruit will also be analysed.
The day will be opened by Raúl Calleja, director of Fruit Attraction; José Mª Pozancos, general director of FEPEX and Javier Serra, general director of Company Internationalisation at ICEX, before moving on to a panel discussion that will revolve around “The process of opening up the Chinese market for the fruit and vegetable sector. Public instruments to support internationalisation”, which will be moderated by José Mª Zalbidea, general secretary of FEPEX. Miguel Ángel Martín, deputy director of Sanitary Agreements and Border Control of MAPA will be taking part; as will Guillermo Kessler, deputy director of International Merchandise Trade at MINCOTUR, and María Naranjo, director of Food, Wine and Gastronomy at ICEX. The second panel discussion covers the subject of ”Keys and opportunities in the Chinese market. Differences between Mainland China and Hong Kong”, which will be moderated by Alfonso Noriega, former Economic and Commercial Advisor in Shanghai; and Jack Song, purchasing director of GuiZhou ShouYang Agriculture; Jason XU, general manager Shanghai Supafresh Trading; Loren ZHAO, general manager Shanghai FreshBridge Trading, and Yan Xue, senior director Beijing Chunbo Technology.
The second day, 24 October, will be focused on India and Singapore. The Spanish fruit and vegetable sector has a high concentration of exports in the EU, which accounts for more than 94% of total exports, both in volume and price. Some South-East Asian markets offer interesting opportunities for destination diversification, such as India and Singapore.
Singapore is one of Asia's largest importers of agri-food products, and has the highest levels of consumption of per capita food products in South-East Asia, as the country barely produces any food. During 2018, total fruit imports in Singapore amounted to USD 680 million and the main countries from which products were imported were the United States (15%), Malaysia (12%), China (10%) and Australia (10%). Spain came 14th in the ranking. The recently signed Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Singapore opens up interesting opportunities for quality Spanish fruit, especially the one protected by DO/IGP. Singaporeans increasingly value the quality of products and associate European markets with high standards, in a clear strategy of diversifying the origins of fruit imported by volume and in carrying out new searches for unique or premium products, according to ICEX.
For its part, the fruit market in India is growing rapidly. Growing demand is being satisfied with increasing and also more efficient national production and with higher and higher levels of imports. Imports of fruit from India have increased by 35% in the last five years from 2,672 MUSD in 2014 to 3,327 MUSD in 2018. Exports from Spain increased by 189% in the same period from 0.8 MUSD in 2014 to 2.34 MUSD in 2018. Our market share is still small. However, there is ample room for improvement. Spain currently has grapes, citrus fruit, pome fruit (apples and pears), stone fruit (apricots, cherries, peaches, plums and blackthorn) and persimmon authorised for export to India.
At this seminar, the opportunities and challenges offered by this market will be analysed with local importers and Spanish companies that operate in the Region.
During this session two panel discussions will be held on: “The importance of markets outside the EU: the process of opening and instruments of promotion and support from the public sector”, moderated by José Mª Zalbidea, general secretary of FEPEX, in which Cristina Clemente, deputy director of Food Promotion - MAPA will take part, as well as Guillermo Kessler, deputy director of International Merchandise Trade MINCOTUR, and María Naranjo, director of Food, Wine and Gastronomy - ICEX. The second panel discussion will deal with “Keys and opportunities for the fruit and vegetable sector in Singapore and India”, and will be moderated by Verónica Semper, deputy assistant director of Commercial Relations with Asia; Rey NG - Business, executive at Benelux Flowers & Food; Chuanxin Xu - Director of Purchases Import Business Unit of Sunmoon Distribution & Trading; Amit Gidwani, general director of GT Fruitech, and Carlos Bonet, export director of AMC Asia Fruit & Natural Foods.
The two sessions will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., ending with a networking breakfast for participants
Organised by IFEMA and FEPEX, Fruit Attraction 2019 will be held from 22 to 24 October in Halls 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 at Feria de Madrid. A meeting which will bring together 1,800 companies and 90,000 professionals, making Fruit Attraction the most effective international meeting point, at a key moment for the professional supply and demand of fresh products.


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Facebook announces security facebook anonymous login features
Use the Facebook apps while no longer have to share personal information Facebook recently announced that it will introduce several new features that will help facebook users retain greater control over the information they share online. new feature is facebook ‘anonymous login
Facebook user can use apps without sharing personal information. Nowadays is increasing the use of facebook apps so, keeping in mind the security of personal information facebook developer introduce new features to keep personal information privacy.
in present Scenario we have used many apps, we used have an option to either fill all details manually to resistive on that particular app or just “Log in with Facebook” and all the required information will be transferred automatically, but if we never want to share apps, facebook introduce new feature to that problem.
To take care of the privacy of Facebook users has introduced a new feature. Third party apps are not a threat to the privacy of users with the social networking website facebook anonymous login feature is presented. Personal Information shared without these features, users allows them to login.
facebook anonymous Login this new version of Facebook app users what to do and what not to share your personal data that can be selected. This category could be the check and unchecked. Login with Facebook without having the feature of permission any app will not post.
Facebook also introduced ‘line-by-line‘ control of information that gets shared with apps by clicking through a series of categories So, for example, if you are want to share information about your birthday but not your email address, you have that option
Facebook’s F8 developer’s conference in 2015 has been informed of this feature. In addition, Speaking of features, the changes have been made to the site control panel. ‘anonymous login features’ for those users who want to do so many apps try, but for fear of Facebook cannot share personal data.


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According to an article on Makezine (a very cool site in its own right), the future of credit cards lies in virtual rewards. "... credit card companies and game makers will reward their customers who spend money in the real world using private label "rewards" credit cards. They will use gifts of virtual currency such as Blizzard's World of Warcraft gold and Second Life's Linden dollars."
I keep hearing about Second Life in all kinds of unexpected places; maybe I should give it a try. It'll be hard to organise that in between ordinary life, Starbound, D&D and WoW, though, especially now that my warlock has hit level 60, and is regularly going on raids, and assembling the Dreadmist set.
Posted by Drew Shiel at March 30, 2006 4:55 PM


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- zbyte a startup bridging enterprises from web2 to web3 has raised $10 Mn funding.
- The startup plans to launch a public token, the ZBYT token, towards the end of quarter 2022.
- The Startup is working on a blockchain-enabled, LCNC (low-code, no-code) platform.
zbyte a startup bridging enterprises from web2 to web3 has raised $10 Mn funding. The funding round was led by private investors. zbyte aims to build decentralised applications (dApps) stores to help developers and enterprises to build such apps.
The startup has been cofounded by strategist Nitin Kumar, serial entrepreneur Krish Kupathil, deep technologist Ankush Tiwari and new economy executive Saurabh Radhakrishnan.
The Startup is working on a blockchain-enabled, LCNC (low-code, no-code) platform. With the decentralised platforms, the startup aims to accelerate blockchain adoption in the developer community and enterprises through its LCNC Interface.
Even the startup plans to launch a public token, the ZBYT token, towards the end of quarter 2022.
The co-founder of zbyte, Nitin Kumar said, “We will leverage the developers’ talent available in India. The developer ecosystem will be impacted significantly by our efforts”.
Additionally, the cofounder said that “Without a decentralised platform, operationalizing web 3 will be very challenging and with its core, decentralised platform product, Zbyte seeks to develop multiple use-cases and dApps.
As per Kumar, New revenue models, exponential effects of web3, and better customer experiences are driving businesses to offer better experiences to their customers. Integrating web3 systems gives organisations a competitive edge over their competitors.
Eric Moe, One of the investors in zbyte said and cofounder of Opentable and WideOrbit said, “As a team at zbyte, we recognized gaps in the Web3 ecosystem that hindered developers and enterprises from adopting blockchain. Using a decentralized platform, this ecosystem must fill the gaps.”
In Moe’s opinion, the value chain will attract multiple players, and this is a big business opportunity.
For More Startup and Funding-related News Visit Alphafirm.


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The fruits of Memebox's labor — including a massive strategy shift — are about to launch in Ulta Beauty stores.The company is introducing two private label skin-care brands, I Dew Care and Nooni, online at Ulta on June 26 and in 300 bricks-and-mortar doors July 10. Ulta will launch 14 stockkeeping units from each line."It's our first major partnership for the U.S. market," said Dino Ha, chief executive officer of Memebox. "We're starting with 300 stores, but our hopes are quite big on this and I think Ulta is interested in taking this further."The launch comes after Memebox closed a $60 million venture capital round in 2016, with plans to center its attention on China. But now the company is focusing on its private label brands in the U.S. because China has been tougher on imports of Korean beauty following political tensions between the two countries. It also changed its web site, once a distributor of South Korean beauty products, to a content platform (since then, active users on the site have increased 60 percent, Ha said).I Dew Care is actually a re-branded version of Memebox's former Bonvivant line, which focuses on glowing skin."It's hard to resonate with the U.S. target audience, but we worked on this project for more than a year — we're keeping the [South] Korean beauty DNA," said Ha. "One of the primary focuses for the redesign was around copywriting, so that the product names and the brand names resonate with the audience. Ulta has been very helpful in understanding the U.S. audience better."The line includes a mask called Disco Kitten, which is a renamed version of Bonvivant's signature chrome mask. In connection with the Ulta launch, I Dew Care is bringing two new masks — Ginger Aide and Berry Bubbly — to market, plus a collection of its five best-selling clay masks.[caption id="attachment_10917081" align="alignleft" width="300"] FIve bestselling masks will be sold as a set at Ulta Beauty.[/caption]For Ulta, Nooni is introducing Snowflake Jelly Cleansing Oil, a jelly-like cleanser that transforms into oil when applied onto skin and can dissolve makeup.Memebox's products are rolling out in Ulta as the retailer looks to up its K-Beauty offerings."[K-Beauty] is so full of innovation, we are always adding brands and products with the aim of offering them first," said Julie Tomasi, senior vice president of merchandising at Ulta Beauty. "Memebox is such a strong curator of the best of the best in K-beauty."
@juicebeauty, where @gwynethpaltrow holds the title of creative director of makeup, has become one of the foremost labels in the organic beauty category –– with sales on track to hit $100 million this year. What’s behind the rapid growth the brand is experiencing right now? It all started in 2005 when the wellness movement was just getting started. Read more on WWD.com. #wwdbeauty
Stay up to do date with breaking news and trending stories with WWD’s “The Essentialist.” Our newsletter delivers the top news in fashion right to your inbox. Want more info? Link in bio. #wwdfashion (📷: @kukukuba)
"I want to tell a story that inspires people to feel good about themselves, but also I'm making a commentary about the lack of female stories and female directors and saying this should change," said @imheathergraham on her latest project "Half Magic." The comedy feature, which the actress wrote and directed, is based on her own struggles as a woman in show business. Read @andrewnodell's full interview with Graham on WWD.com. #wwdeye (📷: @jgreenery)
@meltcosmetics cofounders @lora_arellano and @danabomar built their brand on a single idea: a true matte lipstick. To set the brand apart, they said they always put their customers first –– including a personalized note in each package. #wwdsummits #wwdbeauty
@moncler unveiled its latest project, #MonclerGenius, yesterday at Milan Fashion Week. The Italian outwear maker gave show-goers a preview of the monthly collections – which were created by eight designers and creative talents including Pierpaolo Piccioli, Simone Rocha, Craig Green and more – that will start rolling out in the summer.


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Entries in 'PS4' (1046)
Much of the gaming fandom can get quite obsessive with framerates, but one upcoming next-gen title is deliberately avoiding the magical 60 frames per second target.
EA has posted a new Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare image that hints at a PlayStation version for PopCap's third-person shooter.
Nintendo’s Wii U has outsold the PlayStation 4 this week in Japan according to sales data provided by Famitsu.
Warner Bros has confirmed that TT Games is working on LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
Sony at the weekend streamed a brief glimpse of upcoming PS4 shooter The Order: 1886 gameplay.
The FIFA World Cup standalone game may not be coming to PS4, Xbox One or PC but some free Brazil-themed content is on the way to those platforms.
PlayStation hopes to become the next big gaming brand in China after Sony's confirmation of its move into the market.
DriveClub director Paul Rustchynsky has insisted that there’s no danger of the planned microtransactions detracting from the player base’s experience.
Sony’s has bucked traditional hardware sales modelling by achieving a profit on each PS4 sold just six months after launch.
Sony CEO Kaz Hirai predicts the PS4 could become more profitable than the PS2.
Minecraft will arrive on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PS Vita this August, Mojang has announced.
Sony’s karaoke sensation is making its way to the PS4 later this year.
We don’t even know if it’s any good.
The latest in Tecmo Koei's action game series Samurai Warriors 4 is getting a western release later this year, the company has announced.
Console sales fell this week in Japan despite a number of new titles coming to stores, Japanese sales data from Famitsu reveals.
Team 17’s Worms Battlegrounds will be released on Xbox One and PS4 later this month.
The private beta for game-streaming service PlayStation Now will launch for PS4 in the US on May 20th, Sony has announced.
The 8GB of RAM housed in both PS4 and Xbox One will not be enough to prevent developers being limited, according to Crytek.
US pressure group Natural Resources Defense Council has urged both Sony and Microsoft to reduce the amount of power their consoles use in stand by.
EA's Xbox One, 360 and PC shooter Titanfall was the best selling game in the US in April.
The PlayStation Vita is no longer the only device that can stream PS4 games.
Ubisoft says that upcoming action title Watch Dogs is the most pre-ordered new IP in the company's history and the most pre-ordered new IP in the industry this year.
Sony's early dominance of the next-gen hardware race in the US shows no sign of abating.
Bethesda has gone live with the launch video for next week’s release Wolfenstein: The New Order.
The fact that gamers “have been more satisfied with the Xbox 360 than PS3” is part of the reason why PS4 has so far outsold Xbox One.


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Bluehole has delayed the release of its next monthly update for early access battle royale shooter PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
According to the developer, due to a client crash in the internal build of the update, the decision has been made to push back its release date by one week to August 3rd, 2017.
Due to the client crash issue we are dealing w/ in the internal build, we need to push the monthly update by 1 week to Aug 3rd. Apologies.
— PLAY BATTLEGROUNDS (@PUBATTLEGROUNDS) July 20, 2017
The developer previously revealed that the upcoming monthly update will finally introduce a Field-of-View (FOV) slider to the game along with first-person-only servers. Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene noted that these servers will be restricted to Solo and Duo queues in North America and Europe to begin with, before being expanded to other servers and queues once everything is stable.
Last week it was revealed that Battlegrounds has now surpassed 5 million sales.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is available now on PC via Steam Early Access, and will be coming to Xbox One this fall.


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Sainsbury’s have launched the UK’s first grocery delivery service by electric cargo bike. The company is trialling a fleet of five zero emission electric cargo bikes which will service South London from the company’s Streatham Common store. The bikes will deliver up to 100 orders a day to local customers who’ve ordered online.
Sainsbury’s partnered with e-cargobikes will provide the purpose-built bikes for the pilot. Each bike will have enough capacity to carry several customer orders at a time.
The trial will test whether delivering groceries by electric cargo bike could be a more efficient way of getting groceries to customers living in busy cities. The bikes will be able to make the most of cycle lanes in order to avoid traffic, especially during peak delivery hours such as midweek mornings and park closer to customers’ homes than is often possible for traditional delivery vans.
Once customers have placed their online orders, Sainsbury’s will use routing technology to determine which orders are delivered by a traditional van or by electric cargo bike. The order will then be delivered during the customer’s chosen time slot by Sainsbury’s branded bikes and riders.
“We’re delighted to be the first supermarket to trial grocery deliveries by electric cargo bikes. We’re always looking for new ways to make sure we can best serve our customers and this trial will help us explore whether there might be a more flexible way to deliver Sainsbury’s groceries to those who live in busy cities.”
– Clodagh Moriarty, Director of Online, Sainsbury’s
Quite likely, bikes may well be quicker than vans at peak times of day and doubtless Sainsbury’s are looking at Amazon’s inroads into the food delivery business and this is one of their ways to compete.
What hasn’t happened yet, is consolidation between Sainsbury’s and Argos deliveries and the interest for eBay sellers is still whether eBay Click & Collect at Argos and Sainsbury’s could potentially be extended to become a Click & Don’t Collect but have delivered in a time slot convenient to the consumer.


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Vicky Cayetano’s deal with story in MidWeek this 7 days appears like a information short article, but it is a compensated advert for her marketing campaign. Only at the conclusion of the write-up is a disclaimer in small print: “This advertisement is paid for by Vicky for Governor.”
The tale, which has a Midweek Staff members byline, is element of a disturbing pattern in media when it is difficult to distinguish among authentic news tales and compensated advertising.
And the blur concerning the two appears to be to be acquiring bigger as extra and extra media companies wrestle to find new methods to entice buyers to commit money on adverts.
This spend-to-engage in method erodes readers’ self-confidence about what is serious news and what is paid-for advertising and marketing content.
Civil Defeat noted about the trend two a long time in the past when then-mayoral applicant Keith Amemiya’s campaign paid out Oahu Publications $50,000 for a equivalent marketing package that showcased him in a go over tale composed by MidWeek staffers.
The Amemiya protect piece also had a disclaimer soon after the article’s final sentence. Amemiya’s disclaimer made use of the word “paid” 2 times and was one sentence lengthier than Cayetano’s.
But that’s not more than enough. There really should be a more substantial disclaimer appropriate on the address of MidWeek or in articles in any publication that is presenting editorial written content for a selling price. Several folks do not read through to the end of a tale to know it’s an ad.
Dennis Francis, the president of Oahu Publications, the dad or mum firm of each the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and MidWeek, said men and women are nicely knowledgeable that many of MidWeek’s include tales are paid out for by advertisers.
He suggests in contrast to a newspaper with a membership fee, the publication comes at 267,000 residences on Oahu for no charge.
“Anyone who looks via the webpages of MidWeek can see it is a 100% promotion car, not a newspaper like the Honolulu Star-Advertiser,” he mentioned in a cellular phone job interview.
But it can be baffling. MidWeek on its entrance address says “Hawaii’s Favorite Newspaper.”
Francis claims the stiff level of competition to capture marketing revenue has pressured publications all more than the state to obtain new methods to keep appropriate and to provide additional worth to their advertisers. MidWeek’s deal with tales for pay back are just a person of them.
Politicians are not prohibited by law from paying out for advertising and marketing which is packaged as information tales. In truth, the Hawaii Marketing campaign Paying Fee ruled in favor of Amemiya when there were being complaints that his MidWeek address tale was not very clear it was an advertisement.
Lynne Waters, communications director for Vicky Cayetano, says the Cayetano marketing campaign saw price in acquiring a MidWeek cover story as a rare option to get out its concept to residences all more than Oahu.
“From that standpoint it was really worth it to us,” she claimed.
Waters stated Cayetano from the beginning insisted that MidWeek be apparent that the protect tale was paid out promotion, not editorial content.
When requested if it couldn’t have been produced additional evident with a disclaimer on the MidWeek protect alone, she reported: “The marketing campaign deferred to the publication on placement of the disclaimer. The important issue is that it’s plainly mentioned at the end of the posting, just as disclaimers are put at the conclude of Television set adverts.”
But Television set adverts are brief, often significantly less than 30 seconds. A viewer normally sticks with the professional to see the disclaimer. Nevertheless in today’s occupied globe, not everybody reads print content all the way to the close.
For all its claims of transparency, the Cayetano campaign would not reveal how a great deal it compensated for the protect story, which was obtained as aspect of an advertising offer made available by Oahu Publications.
Waters afterwards wrote in an electronic mail: “Further information on the purchase can be attained as a result of the next Marketing campaign Investing Report.”
Other campaigns have said they were knowledgeable by MidWeek the value would be $50,000 to $60,000.
Francis says Cayetano is the only politician so much this election year to pay back for a include tale.
Liz Skillin, campaign manager for gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Josh Inexperienced, stated MidWeek made available Inexperienced the possibility to purchase a include tale but Green declined.
She would not say why. She stated the campaign had no further more remark on the difficulty.
U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele, also managing for governor, reported in a textual content that he was highlighted in a MidWeek protect story in June 2019. “But we did not shell out just about anything for it. They highlighted me and my tale on their individual,” he wrote.
That was when Kahele launched his marketing campaign for the congressional seat then held by Democrat Tulsi Gabbard.
Kahele explained that his marketing campaign has not acquired an offer you this year from MidWeek to pay out for a protect story.
He texted that he agreed with Civil Beat’s article in 2020 on Amemiya’s MidWeek deal with tale.
“MidWeek should have labeled the Amemiya deal with tale as an ad suitable on the protect — up entrance and heart. There must have been no confusion about what it was,” Kahele wrote.
Peoples’ assurance in legitimate, truth-based journalism is presently slipping. Spend-to-participate in pitches this kind of as MidWeek’s provide to hungry politicians to invest in a go over story — in particular throughout an election 12 months — is producing the line among reality and commerce slip even even more.
As a longtime information reporter, I say it requirements to stop.
Sign up for our Cost-free morning publication and face just about every day much more informed.


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Practically all Americans will take out one or more loans in their lives — for a home, perhaps, or to purchase a car. The recent economic downturn has made borrowing harder. Whatever the type of loan you need, it makes sense to research all your options before signing on that dotted line. These articles can help you get started.
Latest on Loans
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to extend its authority to include 38 non-bank auto lenders that provided financing to 6.8 million consumers last year.
September 17, 2014, Wednesday
A rise in defaults indicates that borrowers with low credit scores may be stretched to the breaking point, which could affect consumer spending and the overall economy.
September 11, 2014, Thursday
Many younger people are forgoing credit cards, but a downside is that they aren’t establishing a credit history.
September 10, 2014, Wednesday
As U.S. sales of cars and trucks have grown this year, so has the late-payment rate on auto loans.
September 9, 2014, Tuesday
A record number of U.S. consumers are taking out loans to buy cars, especially those purchasing used vehicles, according to data released on Wednesday.
September 3, 2014, Wednesday
A lack of statewide regulation on so-called payday and auto-title loans is being acutely felt by low-income borrowers.
August 24, 2014, Sunday
Under new federal rules, income, expenses and family size may now help limit the size of payments for loans in a rehabilitation program.
August 23, 2014, Saturday
First Investors Financial Services Group is accused of giving credit reporting agencies flawed data about thousands of car buyers.
August 20, 2014, Wednesday
U.S. auto loans jumped to the highest level in eight years this spring, fueled by a big increase in lending to risky borrowers, according to a report Thursday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
August 14, 2014, Thursday
President Obama has expanded a program that caps monthly student loan repayments at 10 percent of income and lets any balance after 20 years be forgiven.


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Thanks to the success of the iPhone 12, Apple’s market share as a smartphone chipset vendor has increased compared to the same period last year. According to the latest report, the California-based giant has beaten its close rival Samsung, but it trails by a significant margin compared to Qualcomm.
Apple’s Smartphone Chipset Market Share Was Actually Higher in the Previous Quarter
The latest data from Counterpoint Research reveals that for the Q2 2021 period, Apple had a 15 percent market share in the smartphone chipset category. Samsung, on the other hand, was trailing behind its nemesis, with a 7 percent share during the same period. Apple’s market share actually increased slightly compared to the 13 percent share it had during the same period last year.
However, despite the company’s iPhone 12 series selling well, which is fueled by the company’s A14 Bionic, Apple continues to trail behind the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek. According to the Q2 2021 stats, Qualcomm possesses more than twice the market share as Apple, which is not surprising, considering nearly every major Android flagship phone maker relies on the San Diego chip firm for its Snapdragon lineup of SoCs.
It should also be noted that Apple’s smartphone chipset market share decreased from 17 percent to 15 percent in the previous quarter. It is possible consumers are holding off on their purchase in anticipation of the iPhone 13 family, which will feature the company’s next-generation A15 Bionic. According to one report, Apple has tasked TSMC to mass produce 100 million A15 Bionic chips and asked its supply chain to raise iPhone 13 production by 20 percent compared to the iPhone 12 series.
These numbers suggest that Apple anticipates high demand for the iPhone 13 lineup, which could take that chipset market share higher. The company is also planning to launch a low-cost 2022 iPhone SE, which could become a favorite amongst budget-conscious consumers, which will positively contribute to its overall position. Unfortunately, do not expect Apple to overtake Qualcomm or MediaTek, as both manufacturers will continue to supply record volumes to various clientele.
Regardless, it is impressive that Apple has managed to secure third place, despite not selling its A-series chips to any company.
News Source: Counterpoint Research


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WASHINGTON (CN) - AstroPower's former CEO and CFO fraudulently recorded $4 million in revenue in order to meet their 2002 growth predictions, the Securities and Exchange Commission claims in Federal Court.
The SEC says former CEO Allen Barnett and former CFO Thomas Stiner committed accounting fraud by improperly recording four transactions in 2002: a contingent sale, a fictitious sale and two improper seller-initiated bill-and-hold transactions.
Having the transactions on the books "had the effect of materially overstating AstroPower's revenues and net income," the lawsuit claims.
Barnett and Stiner resigned in 2003, after a financial audit and internal investigation revealed improper accounting practices, the SEC claims.
Barnett is now a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Delaware, while Stiner became a self-employed homebuilder.
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OnePlus Two Will Feature Finger Print Sensor
OnePlus announced today that the OnePlus Two will feature a fingerprint sensor with a faster response time than that of Apple’s TouchID. OnePlus claims that the use of this feature brings improved security and will save time for users over methods such as pins and passwords.
In their announcement, OnePlus stated that fingerprint sensors have been great ideas as concepts in the past, but so far the technology has not been there to back them up. They went on to claim that up until now, fingerprint scanners have jut been selling points and not actual useful features, only added to join the “me too” mentality, which is why the OnePlus One did not feature one. However, “With the OnePlus 2, the fingerprint sensor is done right.” It has been refined and is now significantly quicker than alternatives such as TouchID.
We are still waiting on further information such as where the sensor will be located and how this will affect the price.
The announcement can be found here
Would you use a fingerprint sensor? Leave a comment below!


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Dollar General Says It Won't Let Shoppers Do This
The company has just denied this circulating rumor.
Dollar General's rising popularity is hard to deny. Despite mounting pandemic and inflation pressures targeting most retailers, the discount chain has been growing steadily in recent years. By 2021, nearly one in every three new stores opening in the U.S. was a Dollar General, according to CNN. But while the company is doing many things to draw shoppers to its stores amid its expansion efforts, there is one move it's decidedly not making. Read on to find out what Dollar General has just confirmed it won't let shoppers do now.
READ THIS NEXT: Walmart and Dollar General Are Under Fire for Doing This to Shoppers.
Dollar General has already announced a number of changes this year.
Dollar General has made various adjustments recently in order to help support its rapid growth. Back in March, this discount chain started more heavily advertising and highlighting its $1 offerings to lure shoppers away from its competitor Dollar Tree—which made a very public move away from its traditional $1 prices earlier this year. Then two months later, Grocery Dive reported that Dollar General had also started testing self-checkout only locations. During a May 26 earnings call, COO Jeff Owen said 200 stores would start using this process in 2022.
A social media post recently claimed the retailer was changing its store hours.
Some shoppers may have heard that Dollar General is getting ready to make another major change. A Facebook post from Aug. 14 claimed that the chain would soon expand its store hours, Snopes reported. According to the fact-checking website, a Facebook user posted a screenshot of an alleged news article that said: "Dollar General announces plans to convert all stores to 24 hours a day. Starting Monday, Aug. 22, all Dollar General stores will start to stay open around the clock and they will have some new expanded merchandise."
Dollar General says it's not converting to 24-hour service.
The Facebook post was shared more than 14,000 times in less than two days, according to Snopes. And while it appears to have since been taken down, it's clear the belief has spread. "Now why they making Dollar General 24 hours," one Twitter user tweeted on Aug. 16. But unfortunately for shoppers potentially excited by the supposed change, the rumor is untrue. Dollar General confirmed to Snopes that the Facebook post and its information were false, noting that all of the company's store hours can be found on its official website. According to its store locator, most Dollar General locations across the U.S. appear to open each day at 7 or 8 a.m. and stay open anywhere from 9 to 11 p.m.
This is not the only retailer that has recently been hit with 24-hour rumors.
Fraudulent information concerning 24-hour service might seem odd, but it's happened before. A viral Facebook post from Aug. 9—as well as other recent posts which have been shared tens of thousands of times on different social media platforms—similarly claimed that Walmart stores would be open 24 hours a day again, starting Aug. 14. But the big-box retailer said this is not the case.
"There are no plans at this time to return our Walmart stores to 24-hour-a-day operations," Walmart spokesperson Charles Crowson told USA Today in an Aug. 11 email. In its current guidelines, the company says that it is "closed overnight to enable enhanced cleaning and sanitizing in stores and clubs."


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The tech world is ablaze with discussions about the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in the future. From AI's role in major companies to its integration into everyday devices, AI is everywhere. Are these dedicated processors genuinely valuable at this moment, or are they a solution in search of a problem?
AI's recent boom is undeniably different from tech trends of the past. It's not just about software; AI is making its mark on hardware, transforming devices and the way we interact with them.
Apple, Intel, AMD, and even Microsoft are incorporating dedicated AI processors into consumer devices. But do these processors serve a real purpose beyond marketing?
AI processing is not always done on your device; most of the heavy lifting occurs in data centers. The cloud powers services like ChatGPT, but what can local AI processors do?
At present, the primary function of consumer AI accelerators like background blur and auto-framing may seem underwhelming. Major brands promise more uses in the future, but have yet to deliver.
The lack of consumer apps and features that fully utilize AI accelerators raises questions about the current need for such hardware.
While dedicated AI accelerators may be crucial in the future, it appears that tech companies are pushing hardware before the software ecosystem is ready.
Unlike other companies, Nvidia is leading the charge by unlocking a wide range of AI features in consumer PCs, from upscaling to ray tracing.
AI is undoubtedly becoming an integral part of PCs, but it's a transition in progress. The full potential of AI accelerators in PCs is yet to be realized.
For consumers, the question remains: do you need a new laptop with an AI accelerator right now, or is it a future investment?
AI accelerators in consumer devices are a significant leap forward, but their true potential is yet to be harnessed. While the future holds promise, the current landscape raises questions about the immediate need for this hardware. As AI continues to evolve, so too will the role of AI accelerators in reshaping our digital experiences.


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ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, which managed to maintain its position in the App Store for five consecutive quarters, announced the new chat application Flipchat. The original name is Feiliao (dayalı lar), which includes an instant messaging feature like Messenger, as well as forums based on interests.
The application is now available for download from both iOS and Android platforms. In fact, this new application is not ByteDance's first messaging application. A few months ago, the company announced its Snapchat-like video-based chat application, Duoshan, and is determined to rival China's messaging giant, WeChat.
However, Feiliao should add many new features to the platform in order to compete with WeChat. WeChat manages to collect multiple features such as payment systems, car rental and food order under the same roof.
For the time being, Feiliao only allows users to create groups and forums to focus on their interests. ByteDance defines Feiliao as an open social product and aims to bring together users who share the same interest.
In the meantime, WeChat users can not transfer their profiles and connections directly to Feiliao. Feiliao does not prefer to offer users the option to login with WeChat. Similarly, Feiliao links cannot be opened on WeChat. Therefore, it is possible to say that this tight competition is already reflected in the practices.
In fact, Alibaba, one of the biggest competitors of WeChat's parent company Tencent, and Alipay added a payment feature to the Feiliao with a digital wallet. Moreover, this is not the first cooperation of Alibaba and ByteDance. Previously, the Chinese version of TikTok had joined forces in Douyin to sell products.
The data in a new report by the research company Questmobile is quite interesting. According to the report, ByteDance covered 11.3 percent of Chinese users' önceki monthly active users yılda total time spent on giant applications exceeding 100 million ent in March, which was 8.2 percent in the previous year. there is a growth.
On the other hand, the period covered by Tencent fell from 47.5 percent to 43.8 percent in March, while the share of Alibaba, Baidu and others declined from 44.3 percent to 44.9 percent last year. This clearly shows us that the growing ByteDance has begun to consolidate its place in the Chinese market.


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B2B marketers are still struggling to get targeted prospects to engage, according to Chief Marketers’ 2019 B2B Marketing Outlook. Almost 6 in 10 respondents said this is a challenge for them in generating new leads, on par with last year’s results, when it was also their top lead generation challenge.
Engaging prospects is proving to be a bigger challenge than finding qualified names, which was cited as a challenge by 4 in 10 respondents. Fewer than one-quarter (23%) said that a finite number of qualified prospects is a problem, suggesting that it’s not the pool of potential prospects that’s the problem, but a competitive environment that makes engagement difficult.
[quotes]Certain channels seem to be more successful than others, per the report.[/quotes] Closely grouped at the top as the largest sources of leads are email, search, and live events, according to the survey’s respondents. Not only do these channels produce the largest volume of leads, but also the leads with the highest ROI.
Email was also the top source of leads in last year’s report, while a more recent study from Demand Gen Report likewise found email and search to be the top channels for driving early-stage engagement. As for events, research indicates that B2B marketers use them primarily to drive sales, educate prospects, and gather leads, confirming their importance as a lead gen channel.
[quotesright]There’s less support for social media as a source of leads. Why might that be?[/quotesright] As it turns out, the top challenge B2B marketers are facing with social is… engagement.
Another Top Challenge? Finding Leads That Convert
-Courtesy of Marketing Charts


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Champions of Business: VinSolutions LLC
- Staff Kansas City Business Journal
Although its unique software drove VinSolutions LLC’s early success, its leadership has focused on providing insightful analytics and client consulting to keep ahead of its competitors.
When VinSolutions started in 2006, its selling point was offering car dealerships one software program instead of the five or six that once were needed to manage operational aspects ranging from customer relations to inventory. In recent years, the company has continued to improve its software and ramp up its customer service and training options for clients, said Brian Skutta, vice president and general manager.
Skutta joined as head executive in 2011 when Autotrader Group bought VinSolutions, roughly doubling the customer base to more than 2,500 clients nationwide and infusing the company with extra capital to grow and plan for the future.
“The company has transformed to be customer-centric in every aspect,” Skutta said. “We’ve really focused on growing from a software provider to a business consulting partner for our customers.”
To provide that consulting partnership, VinSolutions doubled its performance management team in the past two years to optimize clients’ experience with the software. The team members act as consultants to train dealerships to better use customer data and analytics, Skutta said, which allows them to understand how to better interact with their customers and cater to their needs.
When clients get the most out of the software, he added, they ultimately sell more cars. With the increased activity of the performance management team, VinSolutions now consults with 90 percent of its clients every month and cut its financial losses in client cancellation by 45 percent in 2013.
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The Wolf Organization, a distributor and public relations agency that also used to own lumberyards, announced today that former president Tom Wolf will return to run the York, Pa.-based company as chairman of the board and CEO.
Wolf was The Wolf Organization's president from 1985 until 2006, after which he served as Pennsylvania's secretary of revenue. Wolf explored the idea of running for governor but eventually decided to return to the family business, The Wolf Organization said in its announcement.
Wolf succeeds George Hodges as board chairman and Ron Blevins as president. Hodges will remain on the board, while Blevins will become vice chair of the board and treasurer of the company, responsible for all administrative functions.
Wolf's return to the company also led to these other changes in The Wolf Organization's management:
- Dave Confer will become vice chair of the board, secretary and general counsel.
- Craig Danielson will become president, responsible for The Wolf Organization's financial success.
- Brad Kostelich will become executive vice president and COO.
- Michael Newsome was promoted to executive vice president and CFO.
- Jim Groff was named executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
The Wolf Organization's Wolf Distributing Co. bills itself as America's largest distributor of kitchen cabinets. It also distributes decking and railing materials, fiber cement siding and other building products from New England to North Carolina. The other division, Baublitz Advertising, is a full-service marketing firm focused on the building industry.
Until last year, The Wolf Organization also used to run The Lumber Yard, which ranked No. 48 on the 2008 ProSales 100 list of top LBM operations, with total sales of $110 million in 2007. It revealed in November 2008 that it would leave that business and focus on its distribution and public relations units.


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