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SocialPicks is an attempt at using the social aspect of the web to create a site where users manage their stock portfolio while making and reading stock picks. The main page has the standard ajax-based customizable modules and boxes to manage the information you want displayed there. The idea of using the knowledge of many to help pick good stocks is an interesting one, but one that is hard to get perfectly right. In the following article I delve into this relatively new site that is currently in alpha testing.

Read the Review

Hello, my name is Judah Guber and I will be writing the Business Bits blog, starting with this, my very first post. First, I would like to thank Devin Reams for doing a great job and I wish him luck in all his future endeavors. Also, Nathan I appreciate the opportunity.

The first thing I would like to talk about to kick off the “new Business Bits” is the rumored deal between Disney and Pixar. Disney has pretty much thrown in the towel in terms of attempting to have their films compete with Pixar. The studio that practically invented animation is being bumped off by the animation studio, Pixar which created films such as Finding Nemo and The Incredibles which each made about the GDP of a small country. Disney decided that “if you can’t beat them, join them”. Disney is in talks to buy Pixar from Apple and Pixar chief executive, Steve Jobs.

This is where it actually gets really interesting. The way Disney wants to pay for Pixar is with Disney stock, which would make Steve Jobs the largest shareholder in Disney. In essence, Disney is buying Pixar from Steve Jobs by selling him their own company. I guess its kind of like selling one of your properties in Monopoly in exchange for all of theirs, weird I know.

In reality though, it would be a brilliant move by Disney which besides now having all of Pixar’s future films without another contract dispute, also now would have Steve Jobs on their board of directors. This would completely revolutionize the online content and distribution industries.

If you have any interesting comments or stories feel free to contact me at business@blognewschannel.com.

Check back soon…..

Evan Williams, co-founder of Blogger and Odeo, has put together a general list of rules/tips for web start ups:

#11 (bonus!): Be Wary
Overgeneralized lists of business “rules” are not to be taken too literally. There are exceptions to everything.

Ironic yet highly valuable…

Source: evhead: Ten Rules for Web Startups via Boing Boing

I was reading some feeds this evening (haven’t done that in a while) and stumbled across a contest. Noah at Okdork.com is planning to give $500 to the person with the best business idea submitted to him. The money is intended to be used to get the idea (company) started. Personally, I think this is a great idea. Too often people feel their creative ideas are limited by finances; that’s no longer the case.

Source: noah’s stupid $500 sponsorship challenge via Business Opportunities Weblog

Hey Brad, check this list out:

Top Cities For Entrepreneurs

• Phoenix-Mesa , AZ
• Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill , NC-SC
• Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill , NC
• Las Vegas , NV-AZ
• Indianapolis , IN
• Washington-Baltimore , DC-MD-VA-WV
• Atlanta , GA
• Nashville , TN
• Austin-San Marcos , TX
• Memphis , TN-AR-MS

Source: Q’s Wire, Entrepreneur.com

Help Rob define it over at BusinessPundit…

According to Yahoo! over half of small business in America aren’t yet online. Solution: offer them a free website! The site is offered through the local listings and allows businesses to not only list themselves but provide their own five-page site to go along with it. Check out the blog entry with the annoucement.

…the search war continues. I swear a new feature is released by someone every week or so. At least Yahoo! is trying to help small businesses, right?

Admittedly, I was given a copy of Michael Simmons’ book The Student Success Manifesto quite a while ago. Now that I’ve finally had some free time (Spring Break) I sat down and read it (in one sitting, it was that good). Michael’s book has honestly changed the way I look at my life… even the way I eat! He introduces a number of concepts such as tangible assets, intangible assets and liabilities. For instance, your brand, growth, network are all examples of assets. These concepts had a profound meaning for me becuase I see my peers around me investing more in “liabilities” than “assets”. In addition, Michael distinguishes between extreme vs. conventional, and entrepreneur vs. employee. These concepts forced me to re-evaluate myself and I’ve determined that I’m an extreme employee. Now what? Michael gives some ideas on where to go from there and become an entrepreneur (determine your own activities, establish systems that work for you, etc).

Not only does Michael’s book present some unique ways of identifying and classifying oneself, the manifesto also acts as a how-to guide for student success. Granted, not everything works for everyone. Michael personally took some time off during college, spent thousands on seminars and conferences, etc. His desires and long-term goals have brought him where he is today (a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, teacher, and recepient of three entrepreneur of the year awards). The same can be true for anyone else, even if you don’t follow the “norm”.

I truly enjoyed the book. It helped reinforce some of the values and beliefs I’ve had for the last few years. It was surprising to see how many “extreme endeavors” I had actually taken part in. If you believe that every decision you make affects those that will be made in the future, the extreme entrepreneur philosophy is for you. In short, I highly recommended this book (find it at Amazon).

…with all this discussion of “assets” and “liabilities”, I think I’m due for an audit on my personal “balance sheet”.

PS: Michael has his own blog here.

The cover was a turn off (”Dude! DELL’s No. 1″). I hate that guy from the commercials. But the list isn’t too surprising, among the top 10 are (Dell) GE, Wal-Mart and Microsoft. The issue also has an article on Michael Dell. I was unaware that he (like Mr. Gates) dropped out of college to start his business. If I were a genius I’d consider doing the same…

Paul Allen writes on an interesting book entitled The Entrepreneur’s Manual. From his description it seems to be one of those rare gems (written back in 1977) that has been overlooked.

If anyone knows anything about Richard M. White, Jr. and his team of consultants and what Silicon Valley startups they backed and how or why this team seems to have disappeared off the map, please let me know. I may contact Chilton Publishing for reprint rights (this book should at least be available in PDF format) unless someone else wants to do that. The book is in serious need of a 2nd edition. The 45 pages that list VC firms (from 1977) just isn’t very useful anymore. But the concepts are powerful and should work.