To Blog or not to Blog

I have been enjoying the Olympics and I cannot help but admire the dedication and hard work that has gone into these Athletes training, getting ready and competing in their chosen events. The athletes come from different backgrounds with a burning goal to represent their country in what can be described as the pinnacle of any athletes career. Behind the scenes, thousands of hours are spent perfecting their technique, mile on mile is traveled between events, equipment being repaired or bought and many other sacrifices being made. Without sponsors, a lot of the athletes would not be able to attend the games and without the sponsors money, the standard of participation would not be as high. On the other hand, the Olympic committee has signed huge sponsorship deals to offset some of the cost of hosting and running the Olympics and therefore maximum focus should be on the chosen sponsors. Who is right? Read the article and make up your own mind.

Bloggers Success

I love a good success story and Pete Cashmore is one of those stories that should be publicized in order to inspire others. He took something like being in hospital and using that situation for his own gain in terms of making his time spent there work for him.

He began blogging about his interest which is technology and wanted to explain to others how to use the technology such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and YouTube. His company is called Mashable and it has 50 million page views and 20 million different visitors a month to his site. He is now worth in the region of $100 million and his business Mashable has been valued in the region of $300million. He and his company have won many different awards and is definitely someone to watch in the future.

Entrepreneurship is about interest, passion, using the skills you have and being determined. Pete Cashmore has this in buckets. Read more about Pete

Chips and Gravy please!!! Not on your Nellie

While watching the Olympic games in London over the summer and you fell peckish, a great filler would be a portion of chips from the Chip shop. Unfortunately the only way anyone can get a portion of chips is to buy Fish and Chips together or go to McDonald's.  Only McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Cadbury and Heineken are allowed to sell branded food at the Olympics. Article

Fastest growing companies in the US

Here is a list of the fastest growing retailers in the US. When looking at the list I got to think why they were the fastest growing. Is it due to the economy and people are buying cheaper alternatives? Are more people shopping in a different way now or are there simply great marketing departments within the business? There are endless other reasons I am sure. List

Half a million pound can of Coke.

In the world where absentmindedness can literally cost you a fortune. Ronaldhino is surely counting the cost of this -or maybe he isn't? He recently angered Coca Cola bosses by turning up to a conference drinking their rivals brand Pepsi. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but Coca Cola had actually sponsored him to endorse Coca Cola. Will Pepsi jump on this opportunity - we will have to wait and see. It would be interesting to see who else has been dropped over the years buy their sponsors. Read article

Made in the USA

The world is getting smaller. Communication is getting faster and international barriers are coming down. Many countries have lost their industries to countries that can produce quicker and cheaper. The bottom line of the profit and loss account mostly says it all, especially with the pressure on businesses to give shareholders their dividends. Therefore with Unions being in place, legislation and many other obstacles, it is with regular occurrence that businesses either set up their production plants on foreign soil, sold off or competitors take over the market place with cheaper priced products.  With all this activity it was interesting to see what iconic brands are still being manufactured in the USA. An interesting read.

McDonald's Uniforms

McDonald's and their uniform. Wayne Hemingway has been set the task of revamping their uniforms. An interesting assignment. Baseball caps and the traditional clothing are seen as too casual. It has got me thinking about where McDonald's is going with this? Their menus are constantly evolving, bringing in a wider product range aimed at all target segments. Burgers being the cash cow of the menu, mango smoothies, chicken nuggets, salad and before long I wouldn't be surprised to see pasta being sold too. As McDonalds is a global brand, are they trying to create a global image that is less American and more cosmopolitan?Have a read of the article and you decide. Article