Category: Everything Else

Ask a Ninja Gets a Payday

I ran across the “Ask a Ninja” podcasts on iTunes sometime this past fall and thought it was a hoot. In fact, I showed one of the videos to my teammates in my Strategic Management class, and it was such a hit we took ‘Ninja’ as our theme for the final paper and presentation for the class. I an not sure our instructor liked it as much as we did, but at least we had fun putting the thing together.

If you’re curious, this was the �NINJA� strategy we developed:

Narrative � Is our strategy compelling and easy to communicate? If not, something is wrong.
Innovative � How will we keep being better than our competition?
Nimble � Anticipate and embrace change. Be where the competition is not.
Journey � The journey will not be the same at each point along the way.
Assess � Always be asking: How does this help reach our strategic objectives?

At any rate, it was nice to see that the AaN team is getting a nice payday for their efforts:

The folks at Ask a Ninja are pretty excited. I spoke with Kent Nichols today and he says that he and Douglas Sarine, the other madmen behind the year-old video blog, just signed a deal with blog network Federated Media that guarantees them a contract for sales in the low seven figures this year.

Basically, the two have agreed to work together in wooing advertisers. In exchange for the right to sell ads for Ask a Ninja, FM promised the video blog it would bring in a certain amount of revenue. Whatever FM sells, the two split, with Ask a Ninja taking the majority, Kent says. And if FM doesn’t sell that much? Well, Ask a Ninja then simply can walk out of the contract.

My favorite is still the “Pop!Tech” episode.

Only In America

Only in America would the idea that corporate sponsorship of healthcare services be seen as a bold, innovative approach to help make healthcare more affordable. If our system weren’t so screwed up in the first place, we wouldn’t need to discuss whether Google, Yahoo, or Ask.com would be a better sponsor of test results.

Why the discussion? This piece by David Lazarus in the SF Chronicle today:

On Monday, [Gov. Arnold] Schwarzenegger took the wraps off a plan that would require all state residents to have medical insurance.

“Everyone in California must have health insurance,” he said. “If you can’t afford it, the state will help you buy it, but you must be insured.”

Among other things, Schwarzenegger’s plan would require employers with at least 10 workers to provide insurance or pay 4 percent of their payroll into a state fund that would buy insurance for such people.

It would also prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to anyone because of their age or a pre-existing condition, and would force insurers to spend at least 85 percent of premiums on patient care (as opposed to administrative costs).

One catch, however, is that the governor’s plan relies on an infusion of about $5.5 billion in additional federal money, which isn’t a sure thing. It also raises a possibility that contributions from employers to a state insurance fund would lag annual increases in health care costs, thus creating a shortfall for lawmakers to deal with.

That’s where corporate sponsorship would help.

Although, as the article points out, companies would have to position themselves carefully to make sure that their brand is nowhere near any part of the healthcare system that delivers bad news. So, expect lots of jockying for support for children’s immunizations or well-baby initiatives, but not so much for things like chemotherapy or surgery. Because after all, providing corporate sponsorship for inexpensive immunizations will help fill in budget shortfalls so much faster than offering financial support for expensive things like chemotherapy.

Yes, that was sarcasm. Sorry. Haven’t had my coffee yet and I’m feeling cranky.

New Year’s Random 10

To wrap up the year and kick off the New Year fesitivites, here’s a gala iTunes Random 10:

1) Tubthumping – Chumbawamba
2) Another Day In Paradise – Phil Collins
3) I Love Paris – Les Negresses Vertes
4) Let’s Get It Started (Spike Mix) – Black Eyed Peas
5) I Feel Lucky – Mary Chapin Carpenter
6) Trapped – Bruce Springsteen
7) Looking for a New Love – Jody Watley
8) Nights in White Satin – The Moody Blues
9) The Revolution Starts Now – Steve Earle
10) I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones

Cheers all!

Party On!

And best wishes from me, Scott, and all the kitties to all our friends and family for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2007. Catch you all on the flip side.