Archive for the ‘business’ Category
Wisconsin: It’s all about the workers…
Posted: February 27, 2011 by datechguy in business, internet/free speechTags: insurance, unions, wisconsin protests
Just to put the AOL think in perspective
Posted: February 7, 2011 by datechguy in blogger for hire, blogs, business, DaTechGuy on DaRadio, internet/free speech, mediaTags: aol, arianna huffington, datechguy on daradio
Stacy McCain does the match on AOL and points out something interesting about the money in the AOL deal:
What it means, I suspect, is that the Left is willing to “invest” in liberal media ventures that are supposedly for-profit but which, in fact, lose money. Because, after all, whose money is being invested? Not theirs.
Five words: Government employee union pension funds.
That, I suggest, explains this whole deal. Private investors are now selling their AOL shares, while managers of pension funds for AFSCME, SEIU and other unions are buying AOL stock, thus providing the investment capital necessary to fund expansion of the Left’s online media presence in advance of Obama’s re-election campaign.
Belvedere notes that this is not an issue for the left:
Profit doesn’t mean much to the Committed Left — not if you mean the word in it’s classical sense [OED: ‘financial gains’]. Oh sure, they need money to fund their various schemes, but the Manic Progressives are always willing to sacrifice dollars for propaganda [see: MSNBC]. Besides, if they play it right, they can always funnel some taxpayer dollars into funding their schemes.
Broadcasting their lies relentlessly until they get absorbed by enough of the masses is a tactic the Leftists have employed successfully for a century now.
The daytime range of my radio show, looks pretty good for ads doesn't it?
Alas that is not the case, every day I’m going door to door pitching the show, extolling the range of the radio station, the strength of my guest and the appeal of my show to a growing audience, doing my best to make the sale and pay the mortgage.
The “interests” I’m beholden to are Basement Technologies of Western Mass., Aaron Pallet, Putnam Street lanes. and every other advertiser who buys time on my show. Each of them offer valuable services or produces to my listeners and buy ads on my show to attract customers. Yet ironically the left would paint me because I’m a person of the right as beholding to rich interests while at the same time they are paid millions for a product that doesn’t justify its value.
The world is a weird place.
Just remember AOL owning it is OWNING IT
Posted: February 7, 2011 by datechguy in blogs, business, internet/free speechTags: aol, arianna huffington, huffington post
We see that Arianna Huffington has made her blog pay off:
I got an email from Tim Armstrong (AOL Chairman and CEO), saying he had something he wanted to discuss with me, and asking when we could meet. We arranged to have lunch at my home in LA later that week. The day before the lunch, Tim emailed and asked if it would be okay if he brought Artie Minson, AOL’s CFO, with him. I told him of course and asked if there was anything they didn’t eat. “I’ll eat anything but mushrooms,” he said.
The next day, he and Artie arrived, and, before the first course was served — with an energy and enthusiasm I’d soon come to know is his default operating position — Tim said he wanted to buy The Huffington Post and put all of AOL’s content under a newly formed Huffington Post Media Group, with me as its president and editor-in-chief.
As a person who pays his mortgage one knock on a strange door at a time I must congratulate Arianna on making her site pay off. Granted she was already doing good personally but it’s always nice to see someone do OK.
There is one side thought that instantly comes to mind however. When you are buying something like the HuffPo you are not only buying the structure and the “writers” so to speak, you are also buying the commentators.
It’s axiomatic that you can’t hold a blogger responsible for the comments of individuals on a site and most people simply don’t have the time to police comments to the degree that is necessary for proper decorum, but AOL is a large company. A VERY large company with a fair amount of employees and the manpower to stay on top of that kind of thing.
There have been cases when the Huffpo has made it a point to keep comments closed to make sure some of their more, shall we say enthusiastic leftists don’t embarrass them. With “civility” now the code word of the left and with AOL brand at stake, they will now find themselves of necessity diligently policing the site, and if they don’t well I’m sure there are bloggers on the right with a lot more time on their hands than me who regularly read the Huffpo who will take the time to find this kind of stuff and helpfully point it out to the new owners at AOL.
So AOL I hope you like your purchase, but now remember you OWN it, all of it.
Update: Stacy notes the relative value of his blog. No word on what DaTechGuy on DaRadio might be worth, but then again I’m just looking to make enough to pay the bills every week.
Ace links. I actually think its the first time AOSHQ has linked here. Welcome Ace readers, take a peek around, we have interviews from the GOP Growing Grassroots convention this weekend in Milford Mass. and check out radio show on WCRN AM 830 (50,000 Watts of true talk) you can listen to the latest one featuring bloggers such as Dan Collins of POWIP, Roxeanne De Luca of Haemet, Tom Bowler of Libertarian Leanings and this week we had Congresswoman Renee Ellmers chairwoman of the House Sub Committee on health and technology.
You can listen live to last weeks show here and remember we will be on at our new time 10 a.m. to noon starting Saturday Feb 12th from CPAC!
I paid $3.02 for gas yesterday
Posted: January 6, 2011 by datechguy in business, economyTags: economy, gas prices, oil prices, republican house
Three to four days a week minimum for me are on the road selling ads, or going to the studio. Can someone explain to me with production down and new supplies all over the place why gas is up to $3.02 a gallon around here?
I talked to one of my advertisers this week. The rising fuel costs over the last few weeks have consumed over a third of his profit that he works like a dog to achieve.
Has the actual cost of pumping a barrel of oil actually increased to justify the cost? Where is this extra cost actually coming from?
During the Obama years oil prices have risen steady. The effect on the price of everything has skyrocketed because of this since everything we buy is hauled by truck.
Yet we see very little of this in the news. After all The One™ was going to solve all of our problems, pay our rents, give people “Obama Money” etc etc etc.
Well now that we have Republicans in charge of at least one house I’m sure the media will start to report on some of these problems, after all there is someone to blame. For example as reported by wyblog it looks like free checking might be over:
New federal banking regulations, the cost of complying with those rules and a reduction in fees banks can charge customers will change the financial products they offer, bankers say.
Who is most likely to need free checking with low (or no) minimum balance? Poor people. Oops. I guess Elizabeth Warren hates poor people. Sorry, no bank accounts for you! We’ve got to protect morons who can’t balance their checkbooks from being charged for their laziness!
But wait, there’s more…
She apparently hates women too; her credit card regulations require that a non-working spouse can no longer use her husband’s income to qualify for credit.
Oops sorry, that is the Obama appointment, but have no fear republicans will be blamed as Don Surber notes the NYT is already on the job.
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