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A clear divide exists between generic labor and talent in media companies and it is now increasingly dividing journalists. The divide initially appeared in the motion picture industry and moved into broadcasting as competition led companies to vie for the talented people—or at least those who could generate the largest audiences and revenue for media companies. The talent concept moved into journalism with the development of television news and salaries for news presenters and leading correspondents that were far above those of average television reporters.    In print journalism, talent initially involved columnists and then encompassed a few well-known reporters. Today, the appearances of journalists at events and on talk shows, individually-authored digital news sites, and the increasing uses of blogs and social media by journalists is transforming many into individual brands that are being using to improve their social standing and connections with audience...

What does Ramamritham have against coffee ? I would have thought the caricature of Ramaritham included a cup of coffee and The Hindu. Yet here's this venerable gentleman having an angst against coffee . Why ? I am referring to IKEA's application to open retail stores across India. You may recall that the move to allow foreign owned retailers to set up shop in India is a recent one (Didi notwithstanding).  IKEA has been one of the first to submit their proposal, willing to bring it no less than Rs 10,000 crores of investment. You would have thought that they would be welcomed with open arms  - it is difficult to see boxed furniture being a threat to national sovereignty. But what they got was not a red carpet - instead they were treated with the full attention of Ramamritham. (in the guise of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board - FIPB) I am no fan of IKEA stores. If you've been to one, they are all predictably the same format. You are forced to walk along one km of windin...

OK - the title is pure hyperbole. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is going nowhere. But the company that owns NYSE is just being bought over. The curious part of the story is that the acquirer does not really want the NYSE, but it comes as part of the package- so he has to take it ! Here's the deal. NYSE is part of a conglomerate called NYSE Euronext. The conglomerate consists of NYSE itself, Euronext, which is a combination of three European stock exchanges and Liffe which is a London based derivatives exchange. NYSE and Euronext are ugly spinsters nobody wants. The beauty amongst the beasts is Liffe. For it is the sexy new hottie - a derivatives exchange. And therein lies the story. In the modern day casino , that is finance , equity exchanges like NYSE are worthless as businesses. Margins are supposedly low. Stock exchanges are the places where almost all companies that require capital list and that's where investors channel their savings into productive investment. One w...

If we learned anything from Instagram's misstep in the past week it's that businesses struggle to understand the concept of community - even those who are in the social media space. Making yourself attractive in business is about being able to respect the community you serve. Chris Brogan talks about the difference between customers and community in his latest podcast and newsletter. He discusses why not all of the people who come to your shop have to buy. The fact that they are bringing their communities into contact with you is already enough. Treat them well and rewards will follow. Paul and Roger discuss what this approach means in the real world of business. Can the concierge experience be used to improve the sales process? To serve them well, you need information about your clients and customers. Yet blatant interrogation can be off putting. How do you elicit information and still remain attractive to the customer? You can listen to this week's podcast using the p...

  We will, we will rock you. Rock you. Well, more specifically, we are more than happy to welcome Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggets to rock you!! Bobby Joe Ebola and The Children MacNuggits began in 1995, in a trash-strewn fast-food parking lot in Pinole, CA. Guitarist Dan Abbott and singer Corbett Redford rose from humble circumstances as a satiric folk rock band that played for friends to their current majestic heights with hilarious and sometimes frightening acoustic performances. The MacNugg its have gathered loyal legions of fans with their infamous combination of searing social satire, soaring harmonies, outlandish and shocking truths, and poop jokes. The songs draw upon a variety of pop culture, of global crises, of interpersonal labyrinths, of nightmares and daydreams, skewering them on a rusty spit for the world to see. With a nod to social satirists like Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, and musical influences ranging from Slick Rick to They Might ...

How would you like to chuck it all and travel around the world ? Tempting isn't it ?? Well that's exactly what two wonderful persons I know are doing right now. They blog about it here - follow it if you are interested in traveling ; its a gripping account of far away lands. If you fancy yourself on the road from Rangoon to Mandalay or on the Silk Road between Bukhara and Samarkand, then this is the travelogue for you. I happened to be in Spain and voila, discovered that they were in Spain too  - Ah the wonders of the internet. I was in Madrid and they were in Granada, so emailed them to meet at Seville which is where I spent a magical day today with them. No doubt they'll get to updating their blog on this day in Seville. Their blog is still in Turkey, whilst they have physically moved on to Greece and onwards to Spain. They'll write about the Catedral de Santa María de la Sede (Seville Cathedral), an imposing and awesome structure where we stood reverentially in fron...

It's an oft-quoted trend: smartphone and tablet sales are outstripping those of laptop and desktop computers. There is another way of reading that: our social media experience is becoming mobile. Or how about this interpretation? The window to our online experience is getting smaller. That is: the screens we use are getting smaller. All that has an impact on our online experience, says Chris Brogan . Most companies tailor their online presence towards viewers with a large screen. That doesn't provide a great experience for those of us reaching out to them from mobile devices. Paul and Roger take this to the extreme. Will websites make way for apps produced by individuals, companies and collectives? What does that mean for Google's powerhouse search engine? Will your app store become your search engine instead? What about apps themselves? Let us introduce you to the Fluid App (Flapp). Perhaps, we'll all be flapping in the future. You heard it hear first. You can listen...

This Wednesday night is gonna feel like a Saturday morning. The Business is bringing you a talented cartoonist, as well as a human who may very well be a cartoon. Michael Capozzola has contributed to Mad Magazine, The New York Times and National Lampoon. Each year, Michael produces and hosts the Cartoon Art Museum’s annual “Comics for Comix” comedy fundraiser which he conceived as well. He has been in a bunch of commercials, you can see his broadcast/ TV reel at http://vimeo.com/21673752 . Born and rais ed in New Rochelle, NY Michael subsisted on comic books and chocolate until he took up comedy and caffeine. He created his own comedy studies major while at Ithaca College. (NERD.) Dr. Foxmeat is half warewolf, half cotton candy. He is part liger, part tigon. He is carbon based and also plays bass for The Carbons. He is always a true pleasure to have as a guest. Come experience him. Your regulars will be there as well: Mike Daffy Drucker, Bugs Sinister, Yosem...

Do you use McAfee anti virus software ? Chances are you probably do. If so, or even if not, you may be interested in the strange story of John McAfee. I'm not sure if its comic or tragic - decide for yourself. In any case its a prime candidate for the script of Gils' soon to be shot Blockbuster from Chollywood  ! (If you want to know what Chollywood is, it is a pun on that stunning  "centre of the world"  where the said blogger now lives and has become completely enamored of ) John McAfee is not your  typical geek. Firstly he was born in 1946 (now which geek can claim that !). While he was working in Lockheed , his computer got infected with one of the first viruses that ever came to prominence - Brain. Readers of my vintage might remember that this originated from Pakistan. which prompted lots of hand wringing in India about loss of software primacy !  McAfee got so pissed that he started writing software to combat viruses. In due course he founded McAfee Asso...

Could you imagine changing your life and transporting yourself from your living room couch to a luncheon table with a princess? Does that seem like too big a leap to contemplate? For many of us, it does. We are held back by our imagination. And even if we have the imagination to imagine such ambitions, we lack the belief that we can achieve them. We decide they are beyond us. Not so, says Chris Brogan . He should know. He has made the journey from 9-5 wage slave seeking evening solace in front of the TV to having lunch with Sheika Mariam of Abu Dhabi. In his latest email, he urges you to paint the picture of your life with bolder, bigger brush strokes. He also offers some tools to help you achieve that. Paul and Roger add their views to the mix. You can listen to this week's podcast using the player at the top of the post or download it directly here: Business Jazz - 7th December 2012 . We're also in iTunes . We'd love it if you subscribed. Get brush strokes from Chris ev...

Gather your dice with many sides and prepare yourselves for a magical adventure of the imagination! Let The Business be your Dungeon Master for this tournament of champions featuring our own D&D, Derek Sheen and Dave Thomason. A cuddly mess of insecurities; Derek Sheen enjoys over-sharing about his personal failures and the most intimate details of his secret thoughts. He likes turning over rocks and talking about the squishy things that live underneath and loves making audiences laugh, even when they feel like they shouldn't. He has been killed in several movies and cartoons! Most recently in the Funny or Die series “Adventure Buddies”; the voice of E.T. in the gay porn/animated favorite “E.T. 2:Dark Territory". His album "Holy Drivel" is available from Rooftopcomedy.com. Lindy West of Jezebel.com has called him "A Human Hug". Dave Thomason is a stand-up comedian who was born in San Francisco and now tells jokes there. He recentl...

Wow! (Again) Listener Nick Holloway has again transcribed an entire episode. Our minds are reeling at such industry and generosity. A gift from Nick to us and to those of you who prefer to read rather than listen. You can read the transcription for the episode of 30th November 2012 after the jump. Business Jazz 30.11.12 --------------------- Welcome to Business Jazz with Paul O'Mahony and Roger Overall. The podcast about " How to be genuinely attractive in business today ." ---------------------- Roger : And we are running! Sounds like liftoff at NASA, doesn't it? All engines are running. Welcome to the Blackrock Castle Observatory here in Cork in Ireland, my name is Roger Overall . Paul : And my name is Paul O'Mahony Roger : And this is BusinessJazz. It is a crisp almost Arctic morning hear in Cork. Paul : To put it mildly it's bitter, freezing bloody cold, it was not nice out there. Roger : You've still got your coat on and we're sitting by...

There has now been enough experience and research to draw conclusions about how news is transitioning to the digital world and what it means for news companies. If one objectively views the developments, one sees that the current developments are is neither as bleak as some journalists portray them nor as rosy as some digerati frame them. Instead, we have reached a point where digital news is becoming workable in commercial terms, but is not yet mature enough to erase the industry's business challenges. News consumption in the digital environment is significant and audience reach is now 5 to 10 times larger across digital platforms than for print editions of most newspapers.   Many large news organizations are now generating 15-25 percent of their revenue from online, tablet, and smartphone platforms and benefits are starting to appear for some mid-sized players as well. If we look at what has occurred in the past decade, there are some important lessons to embrace about news ...