Is Netflix CEO killing the Golden Goose?

Bobby

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings made a statement this week apologizing for poor communication on the recent pricing changes and announcing the renaming moving of Netflix’s current DVD delivery services to a new, wholly owned subsidiary called Qwikster.

Now, I’m no CEO, and I don’t claim to know everything about business, but I would like to send a couple tips out there to Reed Hastings. Just basic business advice.

1. Keeping existing customers increases profit.

Netflix, lost 1 million customers because they monkeyed with their pricing. Marketing history is FULL of schemes to increase your price without losing customers, and I’m sure reducing value, creating complicated new price schemes and confusing customers with new company names is not at the top of the list. Honestly, Netflix streaming library is pretty weak right now. Seems like it would have been easy to gradually pare it down a little and then come out with a new “premium streaming” package that could be purchased for an upgrade, or maybe add a pay-per-view system for new movies like Amazon is working on. No, instead they chose to upset their customers, remind them what they were paying Netflix each month and lost a million customers.

2. Protect your brand

Brands are important. Ask anyone, read any marketing book, brands are vital to your business. Netflix has a brilliant brand. Red envelopes, dvds, the Netflix name… all brilliant. Why do you think Redbox is Red, because Netflix built such an amazing brand around those envelopes. Now Netflix is throwing the number one brand for DVD rentals out the window and going with Qwikster (a name that they don’t even own on twitter yet) and Netflix will now be known as the lame streaming library that is overpriced and contains only B-movies and TV shows. Not smart. DVD rentals are your bread and butter, why not make Qwikster the new streaming service and leave Netflix alone.

The bottom line is Netflix was making upwards of $50 million every quarter, it will be interesting to see if the management has killed the Golden Goose under the name of staying competitive and moving with the market. Some business models aren’t meant to be viable forever and your best bet is to make hay while the sun shines. Hopefully Netflix hasn’t quit early.

Vaccine dangers

Bobby

Flu season is coming up and with it some vaccine propaganda is spreading. Just last week, presidential candidate Michelle Bachman was spreading unsubstantiated rumors that the HPV vaccine caused mental retardation. Now articles are appearing questioning the flu vaccine and vaccines in general. Take this article entitled, Why Our Family Won’t Be Getting A Flu Shot This Year (Or Any Year). This article has several holes and logical fallacies when making it’s case against vaccines, here is an analysis of a few of them.

Is there evidence the flue vaccine is effective?

Here is a quote from the article

In 2004, The National Vaccine Information Center cited that the vaccines did not actually contain the flu strain that caused most flu outbreaks occurring that year. In that same year, the Lancet published a study showing no correlation between the flu shot and the decreased risk of contracting pneumonia.

This is largely suspect. First, “The National Vaccine Information Center” is another anti-vaccine organization, while they may state that the vaccine doesn’t work, the CDC thinks the flue vaccine is worth promoting, at least to children and senior citizens. Even if you think the CDC is part of some big government conspiracy to spread autism and mental retardation, simple logic would tell you that if the flu vaccines are working they would suppress the spread of the flu strain contained in the vaccine. The fact that another strain is causing the annual outbreaks is really an argument that vaccines DO work.

Dr. Russell Blaylock, M.D. has research that shows the damage of vaccines to the brain as well as the toxicity of MSG, Aspertame and Sucralose

There is a retired neurosurgeon, Dr. Russell Blaylock, who is making a living lecturing and promoting the dangers of vaccines, artificial sweeteners, MSG and other random chemicals and food additives. He, appearantly, isn’t actually doing any ‘Research’. At least a Google search could find information on no actual published results of any of his work. There is, on the other hand, published studies of the flu vaccines effectiveness.

The United States began recommending influenza vaccinations for preschoolers in 2006 and for all children 6 months and older in 2008. But Canada did not require preschoolers to be vaccinated until 2010.

The scientists found that after 2006, the rate of emergency room visits for 2- to 4-year-olds was 34 percent lower in Boston than in Montreal.

In fact, there is significant historical evidence for the effectiveness of vaccines. Unicef lists 7 diseases that have been brought under control by use of vaccinations and one, Smallpox, has been eradicated completely saving 5 million lives each year.

Can we believe the scientists?

In a two telling paragraphs near the end of Why Our Family Won’t Be Getting A Flu Shot This Year (Or Any Year) the author really exposes the root of their position on this whole issue.

There isn’t any way you will ever convince me that injecting those things into my body or my child’s body is safe, no matter how many medical studies you produce. It’s important to keep in mind that many of those studies showing favorable results are actually funded by the drug companies and special interests who are pro-vaccine.

When our bodies become too toxic, they attempt to ‘detox’ these substances out. The real cause of influenza is the body’s ability to remove toxins from the foods we eat and from the environment around us.

So the author will cling to their beliefs in spite of medical and scientific evidence? What are the author’s belief’s based on? Research from a medical doctor, Dr. Blaylock? Speculation? Rumor? Conspiracy theories? The idea that vaccine manufacturers are funding studies and promoting vaccine uses is likely untrue since vaccines aren’t made by many companies and are considered a low profit margin product.

Finally, trying to identify the ‘real cause’ of influenza is just ridiculous. There is plenty of research into the origins of influenza and viruses. Viruses have been studied for over 100 years, so to say that the flu is just a product of our diet goes in the face of a century of science and medicine? What’s next? treating disease with leeches?

Vaccines are safe and do serve a purpose. Being conservative or religious does not mean you should deny the results of scientific research and application of the scientific method or take the word of some charlatan who can’t backup his theories with any actual facts.

Nike auctions Back to the Future shoes for Parkinsons

Bobby 2 Comments

Nike has created 1,500 pairs of Back to the Future II replica shoes to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

The shoes are replicas of the futuristic, self lacing pair worn by Fox in the 1989 movie Back to the Future II.

The 1,500 pairs will be auctioned off on ebay, 150 pairs a day until Sept 18, 2011. Nike will be matching the proceeds raised and all money will go toward Parkinson’s research.

Nike Mag

The first pair of Nike Mags sold for $37,500 to 22-year-old British rapper Tinie Tempah. The shoes are all expected to have a significant price tag with current bids running about $5,000. These pairs don’t autolace, but they do light up with a built in rechargeable battery.

Even if you can’t afford $5,000 you should go make a donation and help find a cure for Parkinson’s.

A Different Kind Of College Essay: Universities Have Value Beyond Academics

Bobby

Ever wonder why some people talk about their college or university in terms of where they earned their degrees, while others speak passionately about their alma maters as the places where they really began their adult lives? The term “alma mater” sort of explains it. It’s Latin for nourishing mother. Some educational institutions are simply mills on instruction, churning students in and out like factories. Graduates of these education mills frequently look at their time at these schools and feel that all they really gained was a piece of paper and a mountain of student bad credit payday loans. However, there are schools that have grand reputations and devout alumni that support their write my essay programs alma maters in spirit and with their finances. Just what makes a school more than a source of debt and a line on your resume? There are values and characteristics cultivated by some universities that go beyond mere academics that make them launch pads for productive fruitful lives, and those values and characteristics are what make a university or college truly great.

Character Molding At The University Level

Some people, by their very nature, are more receptive to a university education than others. Whether you believe in personal character being nature or nurture-engendered qualities is somewhat irrelevant. The important thing to understand is that two people can walk into the same university and one can leave being very much the same person as he was when he went in, only now he has some initials to put after his name. The other can leave being a more enriched individual than when he first arrived and can go on to prosper. They both have the same degree from the same school, and yet one is successful, and the other is not. But some schools tend to graduate more successful people than others. One such school is Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

Creighton University has an impressive list of alumni. Though it doesn’t have the fame or size of schools like Harvard University, it regularly produces leading professionals in a variety of fields like law, business, medicine and even sports. Creighton seems to possess the ability to take good people and equip them for greatness.

“I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing if it weren’t for Creighton,” says Omaha TMJ dentist, Dr. Roger Roubal, “If I’d have gone somewhere else, I don’t think I’d be practicing dentistry. They instill a level of ethics and professionalism that is unparalleled.”

Every time you turn on the television or radio, it seems that you hear about how convenient it is to get a college degree online. Education has become a commodity. As the demand continues to grow, you’ll see the disparity between schools widen. You’ll hear louder and louder cries of dissatisfaction from students who attended certain schools and left feeling unprepared for the real world and unwanted by business. As bachelor’s degrees become as common as high school diplomas, we will see the importance of a school’s reputation emerge as an even greater deciding factor when it comes to applicants being reviewed for positions, or in consumers evaluating professionals such as doctors, dentists, and lawyers.

Value Beyond Skills and Knowledge

It’s not the name that makes a school great. It’s the caliber of its graduates and the overall life success of its alumni that give it a positive legacy. “My two sons went there [to Creighton University] as well. So, I guess I felt strongly enough to encourage them to go. It’s a good place where people have similar values and so they both met their wives there and they have great marriages and great families. I think that’s why I think so highly of Creighton,” says Dr. Roubal. These values and character traits are cultivated inside and outside the classrooms of truly great educational institutions. When universities and other institutions make the pursuit of notoriety in research, athletics, and other gains their number one priority, they quickly fall from grace and run amok in corruption and financial woes. This is when institutions frequently seek financial salvation from the government. Unfortunately, history proves that this would-be remedy is the eventual undoing of even the most prestigious meccas of higher learning.

In the opening of a piece for the Forum for the Future of Higher Education in 2007, entitled EMPIRES OF EDUCATION: The Rise and Fall of Great Universities, Harvard Professor of History, Niall Ferguson wrote, “American universities are at a historic zenith. The only question is if your trustworhty installment lender its the best in his domain. Whether they have already passed their peak or are about to do so.” We can only hope that Creighton University and others like it stay true to what made them great in the first place and remain a lasting source of life-preparation and students of good values, as well as skills, for generations to come.

CFL vs Incandescent – Update

Bobby

Back in 2007 I decided to run a test. I replaced several lightbulbs at once, one with an incandescent and six others with CFLs. Since that time, a period of about 4 1/2 years, I have replaced the Incandescent bulb many times (I stopped counting at 4). Recently I finally replaced one of the CFLs after visiting best website for led light bulbs for your home or business.

Conclusion
After 4 1/2 years of testing I feel safe to say that a CFL will last at least 4-5 times as long as an incandescent in my house.

Save the Poudre, store it in the Glade

Bobby

The Colorado Front Range, where I live, is a semi-arid environment, which puts us one step above a desert. That means that the only way we can have cities here or have any kind of agriculture is by using dams to create reservoirs. Water rights are a BIG deal here, for years the Front Range has been struggling to provide adequate water to feed it’s growing population.

One of the most recent, ambitious projects is the Glade Reservoir. The proposal is to dam a valley north of Fort Collins and pump water from the Poudre into it.

There is, of course, a group of environmentalists fighting this project and their slogan has become “Save the Poudre”.

I was driving recently and I saw a sticker on a pickup truck (probably belonging to a farmer) that read like this:

Save the Poudre

Store it in the Glade

I laughed for 10 minutes

For more information on the project look at The Truth About Glade Reservoir and the Poudre River

Barry Sanders and Barry Sanders Jr. – Like father like son

Bobby

Barry Sanders is the most dynamic running back I ever saw play the game. In fact I’m still angry with Bobby Ross and the Detroit Lions management for making him retire before he broke all the records – now we have to see Emmitt Smith’s smug face and Dallas star every time someone talks about an ‘all-time leading rusher’.

One of the favorite things about Barry that my friend John and I used to talk about was his father’s attitude. Barry’s dad, William Sanders was opinionated about his son’s tallent.

“I’m so proud of Barry, but I’m also a realist,” William said. “I watched Jim Brown play for the Cleveland Browns and he was the best I have ever seen. Playing football back then was harder.”

Barry is great, but he’s no Jim Brown…

Well, it looks like the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree. Barry Sanders Jr. is a talented running back himself currently being courted by a variety of schools. I found a few comments in this article amusing

The elder Sanders lives in Michigan – he has three sons there – but he owns a car dealership in Stillwater, Okla., and visits Oklahoma to see Sanders Jr.

“We’re pretty close, but I wouldn’t say we talk on the phone a lot,” Sanders Jr. said. “Probably a couple times a month.”

The father-son duo has taken recruiting trips together to Alabama and Florida State, but they rarely talk football.

“We talk about current events, family, traveling,” Sanders Jr. said.

Sanders will take in a few of his son’s games this fall and even though he’s quiet about the topic, his son knows he’s looking forward to watching him in the future.

“Some of his closest friends have said how excited he is,” Sanders Jr. said.

So Barry Sanders Jr. has to learn from his Dad’s friends how excited his Dad is to see him play. Hope he makes the pros so Barry can tell everyone how his son is good, but he’s no LaDainian Tomlinson.

Lexis Nexis employment verification – Hire AMERICANS

Bobby

Had a phone call yesterday. It was a woman, not sure where she was from, but she did sound like some Indian tech support people I have spoken with in the past. She was obviously stumbling through a script, I could barely hear her and she said she was verifying something. 99 times out of 100 these are sales calls, so I politely told her I wasn’t interested and hung up.

A few minutes ago I got a call from the same number. Didn’t bother to answer it this time. Listened to the voice mail and could barely make it out. The call was quiet, the accent was bad (male this time) but I barely made out the name of an ex-employee and the Lexis Nexis name. After 8 listens I finally deciphered the call back number. I always liked this employee and wanted to help, so I called the number back.

Again, a different person with an Indian accent. I told him I was returning a call, and he asked for the verification number (like it was on me to figure out what he wanted). I said I couldn’t understand the voicemail, but I knew the person’s name. He finally figured it out, had generally poor phone skills, but the employment was verified.

I share this for one reason. If you are using Employment Verification through Lexis Nexis, this was my experience. If I hadn’t liked this person I wouldn’t have jumped through any hoops to figure out who was calling, how to call them back and what they wanted. These people must be from the worst call center on the planet, I talked to three of them and none were easy to understand. Likewise, if you have applied for a job and there are any issues with employment verification, it could be because somebody was using this service and your old boss was too busy to monkey with them.

Metrolux 14 shows blurry version of Thor

Bobby

Recently I commented on Roger Ebert’s commentary on poor projection. Since then I have had a poort movie experience myself.

My sister had arrangements to watch her kids so a few of us went out to watch Thor about a week ago. We visited the only theater in Loveland Colorado, the Metrolux 14. Prior to our visit, I actually submitted a link to Ebert’s article through the contact page on their website and asked them if they had problems with Sony projectors and 2D/3D. I did not receive a response.

We chose the 2D version of Thor since my previous 3D experiences have not been enjoyable. The first thing I noticed about the film was it’s blurriness. As the title sequence played, my first thought was that I needed to visit the eye doctor for a new prescription. The titles were just blurry. As the movie continued, it did not get more clear. The close up scenes were OK, but the sweeping views of Asgard that someone spent a lot of time and money creating were fuzzy.

So what did I do about this? Did I chase down a Metrolux 14 employee and demand my money back? Did I storm out? No, I sat and watched the movie. My job isn’t quality control for Metrolux 14. I have no idea if they have sony projectors, if they were using 3D lenses or if somebody just didn’t adjust the focus. All I know is we spent $35 on four tickets to watch a movie in a theater. We could have waited a month, bought the blu-ray copy and watched it on the 46 inch flatscreen or with the home theater projector and had a much better experience.

It may be a while before I go watch another movie, but when I do it probably won’t be at the Metrolux 14. There are a few movies opening soon (Super 8, Green Lantern) that are on my list to view, so a visit to other local theaters are may be in order. As I watch these movies I will post the name of the theater and my experience so you can know what to avoid. Likewise, if you have comments about the Metrolux 14 or any regional theaters in Northern Colorado pleas feel free to share.