Listen up: podcast alert

Listen up: If you've never heard Peter Day's World of Business (from the BBC), consider downloading at least one podcast to sample. Day interviews some of the leading executives and business thinkers of our time; many of his questions are refreshingly pointed and direct (politely phrased, of course). Usually Day's podcasts are topical and timely even a few months after their original broadcast date.

Another staple of business podcasts is Marketplace (from American Public Media). In addition to the regular Monday-through-Friday 30 minute programs, you can also download or subscribe to specialized features like Marketplace Money. Although Marketplace usually takes its cue from the day's business stories, some of its stories are worth listening to weeks after they've first aired.

Here's something that sounds intriguing from Harvard Business Review: HBR IdeaCast. Finally, check out BusinessWeek's blogs, podcasts, slide shows, and other features about design.

What business podcasts do you listen to?

Corporate Web Site: Steak or Sizzle?

The most stripped-down corporate Web site I've ever seen is that of Berkshire Hathaway. Fancy graphics? Not here. No, the sizzle comes from Warren Buffett's steak.

Of course, the site has prominent links to the site of its very own GEICO insurance (featuring graphics, color, and the familiar gecko) and, interestingly, to a tasteful, upscale e-commerce site for Borsheim's Fine Jewelry in downtown Omaha.

Marketers Get into the Spirit of Halloween

If you didn't love Halloween before, you better get into the spirit -- orange and black stuff is at stores and malls all over America. Most malls have pop-up seasonal shops with costumes and more; Wal-Mart has set aside a big section adjacent to its Christmas shop. Restaurants and bars are getting into the spirit with theme decorations and parties.

This is a big-time marketing opportunity to target teens, twenty-somethings and families with young kids. Check out Hershey's Trick or Treats for a taste. Hallmark's Halloween-themed pages offer cards, candles, and much, much more.

And have you seen Halloween.com? Stop by for Halloween jokes, costumes, lore, haunted house directory, and more. Another all-Halloween site is Everything Halloween. Bottom line: you need green to go orange and black.

Shutterfly Soars, Imagestation Closes

I really like the quality of Shutterfly's photo books and its photo sharing capabilities. These points of differentiation were entirely intentional, says the CEO in this Newsweek article.

Last week Sony Imagestation, another digital photo site, announced it will close in February, even though it was named the top photo site by PC Magazine less than a year ago. Imagestation's photo prints were good quality at a very reasonable price but delivery slowed as the site became more popular, unfortunately. What was Sony thinking? The brand has traditionally been known for technological excellence, not its service orientation.

At least Sony planned ahead to leave customers with a positive image (pun intended). Customers can opt to have their stored photos sent to . . . Shutterfly! And as a reward, customers who transfer their photos get a free photo book too. I'll be cashing in my reward before the holidays.

How Webkinz Handles Rumors

Seems like nearly every kid under the age of 10 knows about Webkinz, stuffed animals that come with a name and secret code that lets the owner play with the animal's avatar online in Webkinz World. One 9-yr-old I know has 13 Webkinz and has figured out how to do an Internet search for store locations so she can plan her next purchase.

But apparently rumors have been flying about the safety of Webkinz avatars. How does a company reassure youngsters that their online pets haven't been harmed? Check out the "concerned about a rumor?" page on the Webkinz site to see how Ganz handled this sensitive issue.

BIG Discount from Expedia

Squint a bit and you'll see that when I got around to booking my trip to Quebec, Expedia notified me that it had found a "better price" -- the price decreased from $255,441 to $340.

Whew! Good thing too--the original price was over my credit card limit. Seeing this drastic price reduction (for a 410-mile trip each way) encouraged me to buy immediately.

Who could make up this kind of stuff?

Green marketing with a mercury lining

Maybe I've had my head in the sand, but after replacing lots of incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescents, now I find out that the CFLs must be recycled carefully because they contain mercury. The October Consumer Reports magazine has a two-page report (starting on p. 28) about how to choose and what to do if a bulb breaks.

Sylvania is offering CFL recycling kits for $15 and up. Here's a more general site, from the state of Montana, discussing CFLs, how they save money, and how to recycle them. (Bottom line, I'll be saving my dead CFLs until I can turn them in during my local community's hazardous waste day.)

Interesting unintended consequence of "green" marketing.

Meet the Ryan People

Next month, my local AMA chapter is hosting a speaker from Catapult Marketing, a division of the Ryan Partnership. I don't know these agencies, so I Googled them and was fascinated by Ryan's Web site.

I particularly enjoyed the "At Your Service" section, where the company's experts talk about what they can do for clients. This added a very personal dimension to Ryan's message, with the special appeal of "hey, we're real people, we really understand good marketing, and we're ready to help you engage and motivate your customers." Great combination of one-to-one B2B communication wrapped in a sleek, accessible online package. Click and see for yourself. And be sure your speakers are on!

Putting a Pricetag on Humor

One of the best laugh values I've ever seen is My Comics Page. For about $1 a month, you can have up to 150 comics delivered to your e-mailbox every morning. Just about everything is here, Dick Tracy to Doonesbury, Agnes to Andy Capp, plus political cartoons for left, right, and middle.

There's no risk--you get a two-week free trial to see whether you're getting a buck's worth of laughs. Thank you to my friend Nancy R. for tipping me off to this great site!

Psst! Wanna Invest in a Pool of 50-Year Mortgages?

Statewide Bancorp of Rancho Cucamonga (I'm not making this up) began offering a 50-year mortgage loan in the spring of 2006 (see its original press release). Less than two months later, it expanded the program to subprime borrowers.

The idea is to make monthly payments more affordable for borrowers. Lending Tree analyzes the pros and cons of 50-year mortgages here. Your tradeoff for low monthly payments is another two decades of paying interest on the principal.

In today's subprime mortgage mess, the real issue is how any bank will be able to package and sell such loans to investors. Without investor interest, the 50-year mortgage loan will wither away.

Hey, anybody interested in a short-term loan to buy eyeglasses? Put on your specs and see my July 26th entry.