Analyzing Labor Data Via Facebook Status

from the the-power-of-public-status dept

Sean over at the 463 blog has a cool post comparing mentions of "hired" vs. "laid off" on Facebook wall postings, and noticed a bit of a trend: Who knows if it's really indicative of anything in terms of whether the "worst" of the recession is over, but what I found worth noting was how cool it is that we can even analyze such data. Traditionally, trying to get a sense of whether or not more folks were getting laid off than hired, you were pretty much limited to various official stats that would be released. But thanks to the fact that people now share such things via Facebook or Twitter status, you suddenly can get at least a proxy bit of data. Now, there are obvious caveats, including the fact that the population on Facebook is clearly not a representative sample of the wider population (and, many of those most impacted by layoffs are probably least likely to be on Facebook), so I wouldn't go tossing aside national labor stats just yet -- but it is a sign of the new types of data that can increasingly be built from the fact that people are now sharing status information publicly.

Filed Under: labor data, recession, social networking, status

Recession Reporter Laid Off... Denied Chance To Publish Final Piece About Getting Laid Off

from the in-denial dept

Via Romenesko comes the news that the Chicago Tribune's own "recession reporter" wasn't just laid off in the latest round, but was then stopped from posting a story about the experience. Well, he actually published it and it was quickly taken down by Trib editors. Of course, because of the takedown, the text of his blog post is now getting a lot more attention. Reading it over, it's difficult to see what the Trib was concerned about. It seems like the type of writing they would want in their publication -- humanizing the situation, while still being respectful of what's happening.

Filed Under: layoffs, recession, recession reporter
Companies: chicago tribune

If Piracy Is Destroying The Movie Business, Why Is The Box Office Surging?

from the so-much-for-that-theory dept

We've already discussed how last year the movie industry had yet another record setting year, despite the fact that the most popular movies in the theaters were also the most pirated. Yet, just a few weeks ago, we were hearing the movie studios whining (and, oddly, the NY Times buying their argument) that "piracy" was "winning the battle" against the industry.

Odd, then, that this weekend the NY Times (without ever referring back to that article from less than a month ago) is noting that attendance at movie theaters is way up since the beginning of 2009. And, no, it's not just that tickets cost more (though, they do), but in real numbers more people are going to the theaters. The article suggests that it's because of the recession. More people want to "escape" from reality and not have to think for a few hours, and a movie theater is a cheaper way to do that than many other options.

But, of course, if we believe the movie studios (and, um, the NY Times as of a few weeks ago), digital "piracy" is killing the business. You would think that, in a recession, the problem would just get worse, since fewer people would be willing to spend money on a movie they could get at home. But, it seems that the opposite is happening. But, who needs evidence? Somehow I doubt that we'll get the NY Times to admit its earlier story was wrong -- nor will the MPAA stop blaming piracy for supposed, but totally unproven, losses. Why bother with evidence when you can make an emotional appeal for the government to prop up your business model?

Filed Under: box office, movies, privacy, recession

Are Intellectual Property Sales Growing In The Recession?

from the evidence-please dept

The Chicago Tribune has an article claiming that intellectual property sales are "growing" despite the recession, as companies look to sell off what they're not using. Except... the article doesn't present any evidence whatsoever. It simply quotes some execs at Ocean Tomo, the IP auction house who has a vested interest in getting more companies to "sell" their patents. It's pretty weak that the Chicago Tribune is effectively publishing a press release for Ocean Tomo, never once substantiating the headline or the claims from Ocean Tomo execs. I don't doubt that some companies will grow more desperate and may resort to trying to "sell" useless patents, but if the article (and Ocean Tomo execs) are going to claim it as fact, you'd think they'd present some evidence to back it up.

Filed Under: auctions, intellectual property, recession
Companies: ocean tomo

Mobile Industry Isn't Immune From Saturation, Recession

from the trying-times dept

One-time mobile phone giant Motorola came out with its latest earnings earlier this week, and as widely expected, they weren't pretty. The company's mobile-phone business has been spiralling downward since it peaked with the hugely popular RAZR, an iconic device for which the company could never deliver a successful follow-up. Motorola is becoming a "peripheral player" in the cell phone business, and there's been plenty of speculation that the company is searching for somebody to take the unit off its hands. Moto's problems are largely of its own making, but come at a time when economic reality is pushing handset sales down across the entire industry, and they've become a major part of the story about how "the cellphone industry's best days are behind it."

The gist of the NYT piece is that in terms of mobile phone subscribers, the world is essentially saturated. In the US, somewhere around 85% of the population has a mobile phone; meanwhile, more than 50 countries have over 100 percent penetration, meaning they have more mobile subscriptions than people. So, in some sense, though growth is slowing, there is still room for more. But, besides that, saturation doesn't mean the end of the road for handset vendors. Most of their sales in countries like the US have been replacement sales for quite some time, and as consumers become more sophisticated, they just have to -- gasp -- work harder to convince them to upgrade to new devices with better features, while the economic climate means they have to pay a lot more attention to value as well. Quickly growing markets may have simplified things for the mobile industry when simply giving people access to mobile handsets and basic services was the primary goal. There's a lot of innovation left in mobile devices and services yet, but like anybody else in this environment, mobile companies aren't immune from a slowdown. Playing that off and using the poor strategy and execution of one company to paint a picture of an industry headed for the brink may not be wholly accurate.

Filed Under: mobile industry, recession
Companies: motorola

Recession Is The Competitor Google Needs?

from the economically-different dept

Rob Hof points us to an interesting idea proposed by Andy Beal: that while competition from Microsoft and Yahoo wasn't putting very much pressure on Google to keep innovating in ways to keep users happy, the worldwide financial recession is serving that purpose instead. Financial crises can certainly drive companies to be more innovative, though it's certainly not a pleasant experience. Of course, innovating through a recession is also a lot trickier than innovating against a competitor in good times. It takes some different skills than innovating against competitors. They do both involve focusing on customer needs, but those needs change in the down times. The challenge for Google (or, well, anyone) is recognizing that shift in consumer needs and making sure that any changes are designed to serve those new needs, rather than just the old ones.

Filed Under: competiton, recession
Companies: google

Economic Fears Hurting Consumer Electronics Sales?

from the holding-off dept

With inflation a problem, and various economic fears worrying many Americans, it appears that consumer electronics sales may suffer. People who are worried about the economy are realizing that many consumer electronics purchases really are "nice to haves" rather than "need to haves." And, if they are making purchases, they're purchasing lower end models, with folks noting that they don't want to spend much above $200 on a single device. Good timing for Apple, which just released that $199 iPhone.

Filed Under: consumer electronics, economy, recession