In a fascinating and depressing study, researchers at Harvard answer one of the really big business strategy questions of the day: will the internet kill the blockbuster phenomenon of a few big winners in movies, books, music, all products really, and replace it with a golden age when talented people of all stripes find commercial success. In other words, would Hollywood become more like Youtube.
Their conclusion is that the internet is actually accelerating the winner-take-all phenomenon. People are now picking fewer songs, books, videos and movies through internet services than when they were sold only in stores. The whole idea that internet is leading to more democratic, broad-based, individualized culture is a myth.
That’s incredibly disappointing because the increasing importance of the blockbuster is one of the reasons American culture has gotten noticeably dumber and more boring in the last 20 or 30 years.
I had a nice lunch today with loyal Business Casual reader Jerry, who also happens to be a business owner in town.
Getting out and meeting people is one of the best parts of my job. And today made two days in a row. As Carrie mentioned yesterday, we had lunch with a Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce group.
But while it’s one of the best parts, it’s also something I don’t do often enough. Having lunch with Jerry and the Chamber group reminded me how important it is to get together with people outside the office.
It was good to get to know Jerry a little bit and to learn a few things about his business. After lunch, he came back to Business Casual Central and got the two-cent Eagle tour. Now he owes me a tour of his business.
Late again today with the links. I promise to do better tomorrow.
- Tankers, tankers and more tankers. Here are some stories from across the land: Seattle Times, Seattle P-I, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Mobile Press-Register, Washington Post.
- We had a short item on this in Business Today, but here’s the full story from the New York Times about Wichita native David Koch donating $100 million to the New York State Theater.
- I know we’re only talking population within the city limits, but I find it interesting that Wichita is bigger than St. Louis. I don’t know why, but I do.
- Nationally, foreclosures jumped 53 percent in June.
- Sprint’s new iPhone competitor, the Samsung Instinct, is off to a good start with sales at Best Buy, the Kansas City Star reports.
Hours before Wachovia announced Wednesday that Treasury Undersecretary Robert Steel would be its new president and chief executive, reports surfaced saying that Steel and former Bank of America chief financial officer Al de Molina were finalists for the job.
That has to be a joke as far as the latter candidate is concerned.
The competitiveness between Wachovia and Bank of America is legendary in their hometown of Charlotte, N.C. As one story goes, Wachovia built its headquarters building in downtown Charlotte just a few stories higher than its banking competitor there.
And similar to the eastside-westside competition in Wichita, you’re either a Wachovia or a Bank of America person in Charlotte, I’ve been told.
So when the Wachovia CEO short-list stories surfaced, it was pretty obvious who Wachovia’s guy would be. It wasn’t the BofA guy, now was it?