my web site final project

here it is:
http://kimloop.com/awawa/consumers/index.html

my results

I finished with $6,594 (loss of 34.1%), with a mix of Google (10 shares), Apple (27 shares), and Amazon (30 shares).

Is this still called capital 'gains?'

I'm so glad these are hypothetical dollars! But for some reason, I still cringe. Here's what I have now.

Thomson Reuters: TRI
Before: 30.27x100 = 3027
After: 24.05x100 = 2405

Warner Music Group: WMG
Before: 7.97x500 = 3988
After: 2.42x500 = 1210

News Corporation: NWS
Before: 13.56x200 = 2712
After: 8.01x200 = 1602

Total
Before: 9727
After: 5217
I lost: 4510 (46.36%)

Am I the biggest loser? :( Good thing I didn't get into investment banking, huh?

My desperate stock

Before

Baidu.com = 15
Walt Disney = 70
Sohu.com = 60

baidu.com = $263.50 = $263.50 x 15 = 3952
sohu.com = $58.90 x 60 = $3534
disney = $32.53 x 70 = $2277

Total = $9763

After
baidu.com = $118.57 x 15 = 1778.55
sohu.com = $44.20 x 60 = 2652.00
disney = $21.46 x 70 = 1502.2

Total = 5932.75

I have lost about 39%!! :(

Tivo, sense of guilt, and opportunity cost

This story from CNN.com talks about an interesting phenomenon but the reporter seemed to have a hard time applying the concept of opportunity cost.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/02/tivo.guilt/index.html

In Google We Trust?

guess not.....

Google: 16 shares x $439.08= $7,025.28
now: 16 x $275.11 = $4,401.76 (down 37.34%)

Walt Disney: 30 shares x $32.94 = $988.20
now: 30 x $21.46 = $643.80 (down 34.85%)

Deutsche Telekom: 60 shares x $15.65= $939.00
now: 60 x $14.04 = $842.40 (down 10.29%)

Logitech: 30 shares x $24.07= $962.80
now: 30 x $12.43 = $497.20 (down 48.36%)


Before: $9915.28
After: $6469.88
lost: $3530.12 (down 35.6%)


but am happy that gas price is down more than 50% in real life.....
:)

Any luck with money?

ok,ok…
BaiduX15=1,795 (4,019)
SohuX50=2,230 (3,011)
DreamWorkX97=2,125 (3,002)
Total now=6150 lost about 40%
I am so glad it is not what my 401k looks like.

My new media portfolio -- before and after!

OMG, I lost quite a lot of money - 45% to be exact. I have only $5,523 left.

Look back at my picks (red text is the current status):

(with confidence???)
Amazon: 50 shares x $72.41 (now $41.51) = $3,621 (now $2,075)
Down 40%

(with trust and some excitement. Well...)
Google: 9 shares x $447.44 (now $270.3) = $4,027 (now $2,432)
Down 42%

(based on perceived potential), perception is just perception
Baidu: 8 shares x $267.7 (now $114.72) = $2,142 (now $917.76)
Down 59%

(with curiosity only), which is quite expensive
NYTimes: 14 shares x $14.72 (now $7.13)= $206 (now $99.8)
Down 52%

Total: $9996 ($5,523)

I guess we are all happy this is just an exercise. And the lesson is: Don't trust anyone, including your professor.

how much my stocks fell

keeping in mind that i can't do math and bought 10x as much stock as i was supposed to...

ATVI

Shares: 1160
Holdings Value: $13,572.00
Price Paid: $15.82
Last Trade: $11.70

Net Loss: $4,779.20 or $26.04%

GOOG

Shares: 145
Holdings Value: $42,479.20
Price Paid: $438.23
Last Trade: $292.96

Net Loss: $21,064.15 or 33.15%

NFLX

Shares: 580
Holdings Value: $13,328.40
Price Paid: $31.18
Last Trade: $22.98

Net Loss: $4,756.00 or 26.30%

Overall

Net Loss: $30,599.35 or 30.61%

I’m really confused how I lost money even on GOOG and other people didn’t…

Google stock

I was one of those who poured all the money into Google (very unimaginative).

I made a total of $292.96 - a 0.3% profit. Miserable but hey, at least I did not lose money and in this market, that's quite a feat to accomplish!

Has anyone seen this?

Pretty cool...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE

What we watch and how we watch it?

Last Sunday's NYT features the new reality of the way we watch now.

Research Outline

Research Question:
As video sits are uniquely expensive to maintain and operate:
a) ...how many sites can the market sustain at the same time? (As of now, it is looking like one video site per market)
b)...what is the revenue needed to be able to generate a profit? (Cost minus revenue = profit)

Background on YouTube
YouTube is the world’s fourth-largest site measured by uniques and the seventh largest measured by page views. Google jumped at the opportunity to purchase YouTube after only a year in the market for a total of $1.65 billion. However, was the purchase a leap before looking? As of the end of 2008, YouTube still has not generated profit for Google. In fact it is costing more and more money to keep YouTube’s site up and they are having issues with copyright and also struggling to learn how to turn a profit in YouTube while trying to stay as a free video hosting site. Currently YouTube is trying out a number of avenues to turn a profit. YouTube recently unveiled a screening room for indie films. It has allowed a special long form video for “content partners” and plans to sell music, movies, books, electronic games and concert tickets online while developing new advertising formats to boost revenue.
CBS is a prime example of how the old news networks can progress along with the new media format. Since CBS started to offer clips of its shows on YouTube two years ago, the network has registered more than 4.3 million views of its clips. Recently CBS announced it will offer full length episodes in exchange for the right to sell its own ad inventory. In the past two years, in addition to signing on CBS, YouTube has attracted some 900 content partners. YouTube CEO Chad Hurley is currently trying to attract more content partners as he expects the online ad market to grow to about $5 billion.

Methodology
-Conduct a historical track of YouTube's revenue growth from 2005 (first started) to 2008
What is YouTube's current cost of operation and what is the magic number needed to turn a profit to justify its pricetag?

-Compile a list of everything that YouTube has publicly announced that it is going to do to make a profit (Screening Room, AdSense, etc.) and predict which one will be the most profitable hence to best focus efforts and expansion on.

-Interview representatives from YouTube to gauge current concerns and future plans


Suggestions?

Netflix and Maghound

I am going to speculate if Maghound will be successful or not based on observing Netflix's success. I will identify successful components of Netflix and compare it to Maghound to see if those elements are available in Maghound. This outline is not finalized form and it surely needs more organization, but here's what I have so far.

1. History of Netflix
A. Brief description of Netflix
- It is the world’s largest online movie rental service, with more than eight milion subscribers.
- For low monthly price, members can watch movies and television episodes online, and they can also get DVDs delivered to their house.
- There are no due dates or late fees.
- Growth history for past years.
B. From beginning to present: how Netflix was developed and gained popularity

2. Success of Netflix
A. Q3 2008 Financial Results show that Netflix has been doing well despite a challenging economic environment.
B. Subscribers: Subscribers rose 23 percent from last year.
C. Revenues: revenue grew 16 percent compared to last year.
D. More data will be added.

3. Why is Netflix successful?
A. Number of collections available: more than 100,000 DVD titles and more than 12,000 choices that can be watched instantly
B. quickness: 95% of Netflix members live in areas that generally receive shipments in one business day.
C. user-friendly interface: very easy to surf the web and order DVDs.

4. Future of Netflix
A. Next week, Netflix will launch movie services on XBOX 360
B. There is no direct competitor for this business.

5. Is the successful components of Netflix also available in Maghound?
- This part will probably be the most important part of my paper. Also, it should be the most insightful. I have to do more research to figure this part out.

6. Possible Scenarios of what could happen.

My major concerns

- After the individual conference, I received a very intriguing idea, which is to consider itune as well. However, after researching, I realized that itune is not too similar to Netflix and Maghound. For now, I’ve decided not to include analysis of itune for my paper. Do you think Itune is relevent to my research topic?

- I am writing this paper on the assumption that Netflix and Maghound have similar business models. However, movie business and magazine business certainly have different aspects needed for success. Is it safe to speculate Maghound's success based on Netflix's successful elements?

Digital Footprints

People are constantly tethered to technology - technology that helps them communicate with each other. This constant ability to interact, ensures that they are able to maintain, or build social capital. Tools like cell phones and digital cameras, and the means of distribution – the Internet – has enabled them to instantly capture and share the world for posterity. This has caused the loss of privacy, which has given rise to several online privacy and/or identity management companies.

Potential sources:
Online policy makers/analysts
Random people on social networking sites
People from online privacy management companies

Comparing content interest across different markets for online newspapers

You'll find my outline in PDF form here.

I look forward to your feedback!

disabled consumers online

My disclaimer:
This is more or less what the story will contain. However, I don't really decide how to structure things until I finish interviews and sit down to write. Also, my story/paper won't be a story/paper but a small web site because my master's report will be in web site format...

Focus of the story:
How do online businesses (or businesses online) ignore or accommodate disabled consumers?

Structure and/or topics:
Example of specific problem
Define accessibility
Disabled consumers and spending power
Other economic details
Examples of what makes sites accessible
Why people ignore accessibility
Real examples of accessible and inaccessible sites
What inaccessible sites aren't doing and how they could change

Potential sources
Experts
Advocates
Developers
Online business representatives
Economists
Disabled student office

Research in media economics

I liked Picard's overview on the history and trends of research in media economics. I did some searching to look for similar big-picture reviews of the field (and related works). Here are two that caught my attention:

Media Economics: Research Paradigms, Issues, and Contributions to Mass Communication Theory.

Authors:

Albarran, Alan B.

Source:

Mass Communication & Society; Summer/Fall98, Vol. 1 Issue 3/4, p117, 13p

The field of media economics has mushroomed recently, highlighted by the introduction of the Journal of Media Economics, an expanding literature base, and wider interest among academicians. In this article, I examine the main research paradigms, issues facing the field, and contributions to the larger body of mass communication theory. I also argue that media economics has made at least 4 major contributions to the communication literature. It (a) provides a means to understand media as economic institutions; (b) helps further understanding of continual globalization of media industries; (c) provides a diverse alternative to mainstream mass media; and (d) offers an interdisciplinary focus to contemporary mass communications research.

A Content Analysis Guide for Media Economics Scholars.

Authors:

Fico, Frederick G.¹
Lacy, Stephen² slacy@msu.edu
Riffe, Daniel³

Source:

Journal of Media Economics; 2008, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p114-130, 17p

Abstract:

The study of demand for media products requires an understanding of audience members' preferences, which are shaped by their taste for content. Despite the central role of content in understanding some aspects of media economics, media economics scholars sometimes apply content analysis in ways that are inconsistent with the generally accepted practices of the method. This article deals with some basic concepts underlying the method of content analysis to familiarize media economics scholars with the method. The adoption of accepted content analysis practices will yield better data and, in the long-run, help advance the understanding of media economics.

Hi, I'm Sam and I am an addict

Never thought you'd say it? Well, Chinese doctors have offered the country's first diagnostic definition of Internet addiction.

According to the AFP report, China has the world's largest online population at 253 million people, a figure that is growing rapidly as more people get tethered to computers.

So, are you an addict? If you're online more than six hours a day, you are.

Google Signs a Deal to e-Publish Out-of-Print Books

Google's attempting to publish digital books. A quote here,

Almost overnight, not only has the largest publishing deal been struck, but the largest bookshop in the world has been built, even if it is not quite open for business yet.

We've seen companies wish to work on e-books, such as Amazon's Kindle, etc. It is interesting that no matter in which article, you never see Kindle's sales number. It is hard to read on the screen and I do not think technology would be advanced enough within five years for people to be willing to read on screens. Maybe for convenience purpose I would by e-books (I actually did twice), but books, for practical purpose, I am still an ink-on-the-paper person (at least for now).