It is rare when someone will depart from the tried and true and approach a mature market from a different perspective - especially using the same platform that has existed for nearly a century.  How can you radically improve dish soap or Newspapers, for example? What could make radio better? I don’t mean HD, or satellite but entertaining programming over the same old FM signal that has been broadcast since the 1940’s.

On December 25, 2003 at 11 PM, Indie 103.1 was born in Los Angeles and proceeded to provide radio programming that was unique in content and format.  The freshness, the independence, the irreverence and elegance was short-lived. Yesterday, Indie 103.1 called it quits on the airwaves. Beaten down by the demands of mainstream media, the sounds of Indie 103.1 will now emanate solely from the speakers of your computer as they now roll from the independence of the Internet. 

There was little not to like about Indie 103.1. I was an internet listener at work and radio listener in the car. I enjoyed the DJs as much as I enjoyed the music.  It won’t be an easy adjustment for me.

The departure was unique and predictable all at once. The station broadcast old school punk with an explanatory recorded message in between. From Pop & Hiss, the L.A. Times music blog:

"after airing Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” the station began cycling a prerecorded announcement, between rotating attitude-packed tracks by X, the Clash, Buzzcocks, Black Flag, and the Sex Pistols (“Anarchy in the U.K.” and Sid Vicious’ “My Way”)."

 The recorded message stated......

Monday, Google creator Anne Peterson announced the launch of her latest search engine invention: Cuil (pronounced "cool"). Together with husband, Tom Costello and a few other former Google engineers, Peterson has created a search engine to give Google a run for its money.

According to Dan Sullivan, Editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land, the time might be right for someone to really challenge Google, and the best way for Cuil to do this is by capitalizing on key consumer complaints.

So what makes Cuil different and according to Peterson better than Google? There are several key differences. Firstly, Peterson says that she and her team have created an improved search that enables them to search and index a wider breadth of content. In fact, Peterson claims to have over 120 billion pages indexed, and believes that to be three times that of Google's database.

The recent New Yorker cover stirred up quite a bit of controversy and offended the masses. TheDemoMemo was amongst many who were not amused by the New Yorker caricature; BrainBasedBusiness discussed the dangers of using satire to cloak violent messages; while ManagersRealm called the overall outraged response childish. ThePublishingSpot reminded readers of a very important Supreme Court decision affecting satire writers and artists in general.

This week Google revealed Knol, a new open-source Internet encyclopedia. According to WebMetricsGuru, Google's motivation for creating Knol could be dubious, and also quoted Wikipedia founder Jimmy Whales saying he didn't think Knol would generate much quality. BrandingPost is concerned about Google's increasing omnipresence and AdHurl is worried that Google is on an unstoppable path toward global domination.

ManagersRealm is running an interesting series spotlighting Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for being "two of the more savvy young businesswomen in the world today." In this series, author Gary Bourgeault, will take you from the Olsen twins' fist break, to their emergence as two of the youngest, most successful young business women of our time.

More Recommended Reading

• Be careful not to let your mind play tricks on you - BrainBasedBusness
• Federal Minimum wage increase - ManagersRealm
• Does the almighty dollar trump loyalty? - CustomersAreAlways
• Author Susan Gunelious listed as one of the top female bloggers - MarketingBlurb
• Social Media prepares us for an ultra-connected future - BestBizWare

The advent of cable TV, DVR & Tivo, and the Internet has drastically changed the television landscape today, and will continue to change TV in the future. Many of the current shows are available to be watched almost immediately on the Internet. DVR and Tivo allow viewers to zip over commercials. Cable TV has drastically increased the variety and number of television shows available to the average consumer, and thus it is difficult for shows to gain the raw numbers of viewers that were once possible.

As a result, every aspect of the television industry is being forced to adapt and change in order to survive, from the television production studios to the TV stations to commercial actors to the advertisers. Traditional commercials don't have the pull they once had. Advertisers are finding online advertising and official sponsorships as new ways of marketing their products.

"I couldn't imagine a more potent satirical argument against the plethora of radio hosts, TV personalities, bloggers and general assholes who have spent the past year painting exactly that picture with their words. You know it's true - Obama and his wife have been painted as dangerous foreign radicals with questionable loyalties and a complete disregard for the values of the United States. His name has been closely associated with that of Osama bin Laden and the furor raised over the couples' fist-pump was quite frankly embarrassing, but there it is."

"I think the idea that the Obamas are branded as unpatriotic [let alone as terrorists] in certain sectors is preposterous. It seemed to me that depicting the concept would show it as the fear-mongering ridiculousness that it is."

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has launched Lively, a competitor virtual world to Second Life and other realistic online networks.

Blah blah blah.

What's the use? Why is Google bothering?

Here's why Lively fails to excite:

Okay, so a Lively flop won't exactly break Google. And, as the Fool saith, Lively could still become a cash cow. But come on, Google - this is the best you could come up with?

What do you think of Lively?

• Poll: Why Stay in a Job You Hate? (view article) - CustomersAreAlways
• Social Media RIO (view article) - SmallBizMentor
• Is Google Trying to Thin Out the Viewer Ranks On YouTube? (view article) - TheAlphaMareter
• Creative Citizen Journalism or Creative Non-Fiction (view article) - ThePublishingSpot

And the genius just keeps flowing from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as the company launches The App Store, an applications store that allows third-party developers of applications for iPhones and iPod touch to have their tools and applications sold to iPhone and iPod touch users. It is timed perfectly with the launch of the new iPhone 3G tomorrow, which will be compatible with The App Store (as will most iPhones and iPod touch). This is a major development for Apple, or any technology company, really, to provide such an advanced system and platform for the use and dissemination of third-party products. Most applications will be available for a cost of $9.99 to the user.

It's a brilliant move. It encourages more participation in the Apple products from both users and software developers. It heightens brand awareness across the technology spectrum. It brings even more excitement to the Apple iPhone fray. It provides an extra incentive for iPhone users to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G, to try out the new applications on the new advanced phone. It solidifies even more deeply Apple's marketplace strength of creating user-friendly products and software.

Whether you're a fan of Apple or not, you must admit and respect their high degree of business acumen.

National holidays are big retail days in the USA, and the 4^th of July is no exception. Our citizens celebrate Independence Day in many different ways, and just about every one of those ways involves spending money, and guarantees increased revenue for some business somewhere. Let’s take a look at the businesses that stand to gain the most from the hot 4^th of July holiday weekend.

Supermarkets… July 4^th spawns countless picnics and barbeques, which means families stocking up on meat, cheese, buns, paper products, deserts, and more, making supermarkets (and superstores like Wal-Mart) very busy.

Gas stations… despite the high price of gas and the consequent decrease of travel this year, a huge number of people will still be traveling for July 4 weekend.

Retail stores… the smart retail stores hold mid-year Independence Day sales, thus enticing more business.

Fireworks… whether it’s legal in your state or not, tons of fireworks will be sold and ignited, both at sanctioned fireworks shows and in your neighbor’s yard.

All in a month's work?

Samuel Israel, a bigtime hedge fund business leader, was convicted and sentenced a few weeks ago for swindling $450 million from his customers.

So he did the logical thing.

He faked his own suicide and hid.

And of course that wasn't very fun.

So today Sam Israel surrendered to Massachusetts police.

Cue the O'Jays.

Okay, actually ... cue the MASH theme.

That's right - Israel's fake farewell message to the world was "Suicide is Painless," which he fingerpainted in dust on the hood of his car before leaving it on a 150-foot-high bridge a month ago.

The Web makes a situation like this a little, um, hard to overcome.

If you're a business leader, take a lesson from the sad Sam Israel story and:

1. Don't cheat.

2. Don't run from justice.

3. Don't fake your own death.

4. Don't drag the MASH theme through the dust - er, mud.

What do you think we can learn from Sam Israel's criminal activities?

Bill Gates leaves Microsoft today. Here's why that's a good thing.

5. (If you love Google) Sets the stage for Google to overtake Microsoft in the desktop office software department.

4. (If you hate Google) Sets the stage for Microsoft to combat Google in the Web-based office tools arena.

3. Now someone else can become the world's third-richest man.

2. Now Gates has a chance to define his life's legacy as something different from being Microsoft's dominant leader for well over two decades.

... and ...

1. Fighting against diseases vs. fighting for computing world domination. 'Nuff said.

Do you think Gates' departure is good or bad for Microsoft? What about for the world?

The Know More Media network’s blog on workplace and life productivity, ProductivityGoal.com, was recently named one of the Top 50 Productivity Blogs by EvanCarmichael.com. ProductivityGoal.com’s author is the productivity savvy Alfa Mercado, who has been writing on the blog for over half a year.

ProductivityGoal comes in at #32 on Evan Carmichael’s Top 50 Productivity Blogs list. Carmichael created the list to “help give you the tools to make your life and business more productive and allow you to reap the benefits.” Specifically about ProductivityGoal, Carmichael says, “ProductivityGoal offers a variety of expert advice, news, tips, resources, and opinions on various business-to-business topics.”

We’re honored that ProductivityGoal has been included in such a comprehensive and quality list of productivity blogs. Our congratulations go to Alfa Mercado for doing such a wonderful job bringing productivity advice and instruction to the business world and to our network.

Today the Supreme Court ruled to support and conclusively interpret and define the US Constitution’s Second Amendment’s right of regular individual US citizens to own a gun and keep the gun at home for self-defense. “The basic issue for the justices was whether the amendment protects an individual's right to own guns no matter what, or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia.” It was decided that Americans can indeed own and keep guns in their homes… and gunmakers such as Beretta and Glock breath a major sigh of relief.

Think of the negative impact on gun manufacturers if the Supreme Court had decided the opposite. Imagine if you have been building water beds for 65 years, you had become a specialist in water beds, and then one day it became illegal for the vast majority of Americans to not only buy but own a water bed. How would your business survive?

Sure, you might be able to switch to building regular beds, but your expertise and your experience—all your know-how of 65 years—is in water beds. The transition would be extremely difficult, and most likely utterly prohibitive. Thus it is that gunmakers like Glock in particular, who specialize in handguns, are surely relieved at today’s Supreme Court ruling that will abolish such handgun bans as Washington DC’s current handgun ban.

We distributed a press release today announcing our sponsorship of this year's Blogworld & New Media Expo 2008. Please read the full press release below, or go to its direct link on PRWeb.

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The business blog network, Know More Media, has become a media partner and sponsor of the Blogworld & New Media Expo 2008 in Las Vegas, Sep 20-21.

Orange County, CA (PRWEB) June 26, 2008 – Know More Media, an online publisher of business content, and one of the world’s leading business blog networks, has become a media partner and sponsor of the second annual Blogworld & New Media Expo being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Sep 20-21, 2008. Know More Media’s business blogs provide real-time news, information, and analysis on a variety of business topics, authored by topical experts who are authorities in their respective business-related fields. The Blogworld Expo is the world’s largest industry-wide tradeshow, conference, and media event that is dedicated to the blogging industry and new media.

“We were proud to sponsor Blogworld at its inaugural event in 2007, and we are thrilled to be involved as a sponsor again in 2008,” said Hal Halladay, CEO of Know More Media. “As a media partner, we are advertising and promoting the Blogworld Expo across our entire network of over 100 business-related blogs.”

Wimbledon 2008 began today at the All English Lawn Tennis and Croquet club in Wimbledon, London, England. The event is one of four world Grand Slam tournaments, the others held in Australia, France, and the US respectively. While so often the focus is on the championships to be won and/or defended, major sporting events like Wimbledon are big business with Wimbledon being one of the world's foremost brands in sports.

While the Brits may not have had a champion for several decades, according to The Guardian the marketing of the Wimbledon Championship is a champion effort of its own. With licensing deals with more than 40 companies both global and domestic and a new Centre Court Shoppe selling Wimbledon branded merchandise, generated a surplus upwards of £26m that go back into the coffer of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), which has exclusive rights to host the championship.

While merchandising is very important for the marketing and branding of the Wimbledon games, Roger McCowen, marketing director at the All-England club, says: "Merchandising is very small in the context of the income from our TV rights and our big official suppliers, but the difference is in the geographical reach, the 52-week awareness, the brand extension."

The LTA has deals with BBC, NBC, ESPN and other international networks for exclusive coverage of the tornement, as well as broadcasting online and to mobile phones as well. When it comes to awareness and branding, the Lawn Tennis Association has the bases covered and is a global marketing and branding success.