Monthly Archives: January 2009

Media implosion

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09_01newyorktimesWhile the news about the economy in general continues to be grim, the news in regard to the media economy is pretty much catastrophic. Earlier today, my friend who works at a regional weekly newspaper told us about a three-person layoff at their small office (including one of her bosses) and her feeling that newspapers were “pretty much toast” right now. Soon after, I found this article on The Wrap, via MediaBistro, with some pretty grim statistics of its own. The headline doom-and-gloom story continues to be the New York Times, becuase of news like this:

  • The New York Times Co. said Wednesday that fourth-quarter earnings plunged 48 percent and online sales fell for the first time as the recession depressed spending by advertisers. –The Huffington Post

It’s a pretty scary time to be a writer, that’s for sure. As I’ve written on here before, I just hope that being a freelancer in this kind of economy is a good thing, not a horrific thing. But who knows? Not many thought it would get this bad, this fast, in the first place. Yikes.

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons

Va-Va-Vegas

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532507727_2782e2523eAs a freelance writer, trade shows aren’t really a de rigueur part of my lifestyle, but this year, I decided to pony up and make the trip to the Snowsports Industries of America (SIA) show in Las Vegas. Since so much of my freelance income comes from snowsports, it seemed like a sound investment, so here I am. We’ve only been here for about 12 hours and the show hasn’t started yet, but my observations on Vegas thus far are:

  1. The “strip” is REALLY close to the airport. It’s kind of alarming. You land on the tarmac and blammo! There’s the MGM Grand.
  2. You see Vegas so much on TV, etc, that it’s both awe-inspiring and completely familiar at the same time. A very strange combination. Like seeing Pierce Brosnon on the street in New York…. you know him but you don’t. (True story. He rudely shoulder-checked my b/f at an intersection. We let him go with a light warning.)
  3. Casinos are weird. They’re giant, well-lit conference rooms sprinkled with games with names like “Wild Cougar” and waitresses in skanky outfits. And they’re exactly the same at 12:20 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., just with different densities of people and varying levels of sobriety.
  4. The Mandalay Bay casino, where we are staying, is enormous. It has its own shark tank exhibit. Look for an eye-witness account of that baby later.
  5. Carrot Top is EVERYWHERE. Gross.

-KB

PHOTO: Rojer, Flickr Creative Commons

My mini Moos

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img_0601Today was an exciting mail day — I received my Moo.com mini business cards! All the way from England. They’re very cute, are made of recycled paper and came in a nifty little recycled-plastic box. The best part? They were only 19.99 USD for 100 cards, plus $7 shipping (overseas!).

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The funny thing about business cards, though, is that I have a hard time getting rid of them. I’ll be going to a trade show next week in Las Vegas, so that should take care of some, but I’ll probably have the rest for a couple of years. I guess if you’re a Bay Streeter, you’re going to meetings all the time and leaving them behind, but I just mainly sit at my desk and email people. Or, I just tell them to come here, since it’s my name and it’s easy to remember.

Do you use business cards often? Or do they end up sitting, slightly scuffed and dirty, in your wallet, like mine?

More: www.moo.com (You can even make cards using images from your Flickr or FB account!) Email me if you want Moos of your own… they gave me a discount code for 20% off.