When does my Smartphone addiction kick in?

I think I was one of the last people to upgrade to a smartphone, but I have officially made the switch to the dark side.  I purchased the Samsung Galaxy S4 through a Black Friday deal that offered the new phone for free.  I actually purchased the phone on Saturday, but still waited for two hours.  The wait was definitely well worth it.  Practically, this phone will allow me to more frequently check email and respond in a more timely manner than before.  Also, working in group projects has been difficult because of my previous inability to participate in group text message threads.  Often times, I would be left out of the loop of my group which was frustrating for both parties involved.  

Consuming information has become much easier on a smartphone.  There is one less barrier to accessing information online with a 4G network that you carry with you in your pocket.  The Galaxy has a very fast processor for a smartphone which makes browsing the internet easy.  I would say that the biggest differentiation between an Android phone and an iPhone is the ability to store music in the cloud with Google Play.  You are able to upload your iTunes music library to the cloud with Google Play so that your music does not take up memory on your phone.  Most of my friends have trouble with memory on their iPhones because of their large music libraries.  The Google Play Store, ala the iTunes store is very comprable in selection in price.

Overall, I feel that having a smartphone will increase my ability to keep up with emails and news.  Hopefully I am able to put it down!

Do Runners Want all the Attention?

The Wall Street Journal recently featured a blog post by Chad Stafko entitled “OK, You’re a Runner. Get Over It”.  I will post this blog at the bottom of this post, but I would also like to summarize the content of Stafko’s piece.  Essentially, Stafko believes that runners are completely self-indulgent and have an innate need to let everyone know that they are runners.  As a runner, I do agree to a certain extent.  Runners do like to flaunt their athletic achievements.  However, I would also argue that non-runners also spur a lot of this hype.  Running is a sport that everyone can relate to; we have all run the mile in gym class at some point.  To the average Joe, running a marathon is quite an accomplishment and honestly deserves some form of acknowledgement.  To this extent, I think there is a general curiosity by non-runners which can be misconstrued for self promotion by many runners.   

However, Stafko seems to think that runners are completely self indulgent athletes who are always seeking special treatment and a pat on the back.  Stafko goes on to explain why runners are attention craving athletes through many ridiculous “examples”.  

Stafko’s first example of how ridiculous the running culture has become is that there are a variety of running magazines that runners can read about.  Uh, of course there are.  There are dedicated magazines for any sport imaginable.  How are you going to seriously bash the sport of running because there are dedicated running magazines?  That just makes no sense.

Next, Stafko seems to think that it is appalling that runners can go shopping at, wait for it, running stores.  Why not just go shopping at a large athletic store, Stafko asks.  If Stafko had actually done his research, he would have realized that the service you receive in a big box sports store is wildly different than what you get in a running speciality store.  These running specialty stores do make money, because there is a huge market for them.  As Stafko mentioned earlier in his post, race registrations have show a huge boom in the last couple years.  Stafko seems unable to understand that if race registrations boom, the demand for running apparel and shoes will go up, also.  Pretty deep thinking there.

The next, and by far the utmost ridiculous statement that Stafko makes is that runners wear running apparel to be identified as runners and congratulated on their accomplishments.  Stafko writes “Why would someone want to get up at 5 a.m. and run 10 miles adorned with fluorescent tape to avoid being struck by someone who has the good sense to use a car for a 10-mile journey?I have a theory. There is no more visible form of strenuous exercise than running. When runners are dashing down a street in the middle of town or through a subdivision, they know that every driver, every pedestrian, every leaf-raker and every person idly staring out a window can see them”.  So let me get this right.  Runners are getting out of bed at 5 A.M. when it is most likely to be dark outside, in hopes of getting noticed because of their bright clothing.  They definitely would not be wearing bright clothing to avoid getting hit by cars.  No, they are deliberately trying to receive attention from their peers.  That makes a lot more sense.  I normally go running at 5 AM when I want attention, too.  

Stafko seems to have a personal grudge against runners that manifests itself in his blog post.  It seems that I have a personal grudge against Stafko, which has manifested itself in this blog post.  If you are going to bash runners, make some reasonable arguments, do not simply go spewing ridiculous examples of why runners are self promoting athletes.  This post did a great job of attracting attention to the WSJ, however.  Over 800 comments alone on this article show some serious engagement from some angry runners.  

Copy of Stafko’s Article

OK, You're a Runner. Get Over It

Running a marathon is hard enough without also patting yourself on the back every step of the way.

By

CHAD STAFKO

Nov. 12, 2013 6:35 p.m. ET

There is one kind of bumper sticker I see almost daily here in my small Midwestern town: a small oval printed with "26.2" or "13.1." In case you're lucky enough not to know what these numbers represent, let me explain: They indicate that the driver or someone in the car has run a marathon (26.2 miles) or a half-marathon (13.1 miles).

There is only one reason running aficionados display the stickers. They want the rest of us to know about their long-distance feats. So let me be the first to offer my hearty congratulations. I'd even offer to give them a pat on the back—once they're done doing it themselves.

What's with this infatuation with running and the near-mandatory ritual of preening about it?

Almost every day I see people running: in the city, through subdivisions or out on country roads. They're everywhere and at all times, from dawn until dark, their reflective gear flickering along the road.

Getty Images

I thought I was imagining this spike in running's popularity, but that's not the case. According to the group Running USA, there were some 15.5 million people who finished running events in 2012, compared with approximately 13 million in 2010. These 15.5 million are hoofing it through marathons, half-marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, fun runs, night runs, charity runs and what can only be labeled as insane ultramarathon runs of 50 miles or more.

When they're not out there sweating through the miles, they can relax with a running magazine. There is Runners World, with its 660,000 subscribers, but also Running Times, Trail Runner, Runner's Gazette and several others. Reading. About running.

Or these runners, when they're not running, can go shopping—at a running store. There's one such store less than 15 miles, or better said, just a bit over a half-marathon, from my house. It sells only running equipment and apparel. The store has been in business several years, so apparently it is making money.

This "equipment," of course, is nothing but shoes and clothes. You can buy these same shoes at a sporting-goods store or online, probably for much less.

But the clothes—well, that's a different story. Many of the shirts on the racks have running logos, motivational slogans and images of stick people running.

Like the 26.2 and 13.1 bumper stickers, this apparel serves a clear purpose: We can look at them and immediately know that the person wearing it is a runner—perhaps even an accomplished one.

I have several friends who are runners, or at least I did before writing this. Some have completed marathons in Nashville and Washington, D.C. One even ran the Boston Marathon.

A few days ago, one of these running friends said, after describing a recent run: "Why do I keep doing this?" I have no idea.

Why would someone want to get up at 5 a.m. and run 10 miles adorned with fluorescent tape to avoid being struck by someone who has the good sense to use a car for a 10-mile journey?

I have a theory. There is no more visible form of strenuous exercise than running. When runners are dashing down a street in the middle of town or through a subdivision, they know that every driver, every pedestrian, every leaf-raker and every person idly staring out a window can see them.

These days, people want more than ever to be seen. This is the age of taking a photo selfie and posting it on Facebook with the announcement that you're bored—in the hope that someone will "like" that information. People want attention and crave appreciation. If you're actually doing something like running—covering ground, staying healthy, almost even having fun—what better way to fulfill the look-at-me desire? The lone runner is a one-person parade. Yay.

OK, I know, this isn't the case for all runners. Many of my friends who regularly run have done so for years, decades before there was a thing called social media to put humanity's self-absorption in overdrive. These folks also tend to be infatuated with fitness anyway. If they're not out on the streets showing the sedentary world how it's done, they're at the gym or in a spinning class.

But what about the others? You can spot them, wandering through the mall or killing time at Starbucks, proudly wearing their "[Fill in the blank] 5K Run" T-shirts. They're getting what they want, without losing a drop of sweat.

I saw a great new bumper sticker the other day. It read 0.0. I'll take one of those, please.

Mr. Stafko is a writer living in Freeburg, Ill.

Easy Senior Year is a Daydream

Wow, Senior year in college is much different than Senior year in High School.  After gaining acceptance to Saint Joseph’s University and several other schools as a High School Senior, the schoolwork did not seem to carry the same weight as it previously had.  Fast forward four year to Senior year in college, and the exact opposite is actually true.  So far, the first semester of Senior year has been the most taxing and demanding semester I have ever been through.  Coming into the year, almost any person that you talk to will remind you, yet again, to make the most of your Senior year because it is the last year of the best four years of your life.  I have heard enough people tell me that exact line, but Senior year has not been all fun and games.  My two Senior capstone courses: Business Policy and Marketing Strategy.  These courses have provided an ample amount of schoolwork that have demanded a lot of my attention.  As capstone courses, they have demanded the majority of my time, although my other classes are not cupcakes (Social Media Marketing!).  

Combine this workload with being a student-athlete and I have been quite pressed for time.  Coming into this semester, I did not expect to be spending almost every night in the library.  However, this semester has been the most rewarding semester academically.  I feel that I am absorbing and learning more new and exciting information than ever before.  Part of this has to do with the fact that 3 of my 5 classes are business courses, as I have completed most of my general requirements.  By your Senior year, you are mostly interested in taking classes that pertain to your major or field of interest.  This semester has made me prioritize and make great use of my time.  These skills will certainly help me in the long run, as I look to apply for a job and move in the real world.  Yes, the real world.  Amid this extremely busy semester, I have been enjoying the work and some of my last days in college.  Looking forward to next semester….

Business of Running

Running is a pretty boring sport to watch.  As a runner, I find it pretty interesting to watch my sport on television, but I definitely reside in the small minority.  Additionally, attending live running events, mainly track races, has a loyal but small following.  The question that I present is how to push the sport of running out to the masses successfully?

Much of the reason that track meets are not popular on is because of the TV coverage by the major networks.  There are not many major track meets that get national exposure on television, and the ones that do end up receiving subpar broadcasting quality, scaring away the small amount of viewers that take a chance and watch a track meet in the first place.  Often times, the broadcast will cut out right in the middle of a track event that is taking place.  What a great way to engage viewers.  Could you imagine if CBS cut out the broadcast of a 2 min drill during the NFL playoffs?  That would obviously never happen and highlights the difference in treatment and engagement between the two sports.  Track needs to concentrate on the high profile events and provide uninterrupted streaming for these events.  Next, the announcement during track meets is absolutely atrocious.  Tom Hammond is the worst announcer I have ever heard on a major sports broadcast.  The announcers, in general, do not know their stuff.  Often times, they focus on one athlete for an entire race.  Simple mistakes such as misidentifying athletes during a race hurt the credibility of announcers.  Watching a track meet can be pure torture because of the subpar announcing.

As for live events, there are two key ways that I believe can help track meets gain popularity.  Both of these beliefs are spoken often by Nick Symmonds, who earned a Silver Medalist at the World Championships in 2013.  Track meets must integrate two aspects to the live events: beer and gambling.  The fact that track meets do not have beer in their stadiums is almost the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard.  What other major sporting event does not provide beer for its fans?  Probably no live sporting event that actually makes a lot of money at its games.  Being able to relax and have a beer at games would be a great way for meet organizers to boost revenues and add value for fans.  I would like to see the uproar that would happen if an NFL game stopped serving beer.

Secondly, gambling on track meets should be instituted.  As Nick Symmonds says, this allows you to have a horse in the race that you can root for.  What a great way to drive fan engagement!  You show up to the track, place a bet on your runner, and go into the stands and cheer hard for him.  I would venture that watching runners compete at a track meet is just as exciting as watching horses run around an oval.  Permitting gambling would also help drive revenues up and drive fan engagement.

Why a Chromebook is Great for (Most) College Students

Recently, I purchased a Samsung Chromebook as my primary laptop.  I feel that many college students out there are intimidated to buy a Chromebook because of its perceived limited capabilities.  However, I am writing this blog to dispel those thoughts, with a few caveats of course.  A Chromebook is not suitable for every student, but will meet the needs of most.  The big scare behind the Chromebook is the lack of a hard drive.  

That is right, there is no place internal storage other than 16GB that is provided for app downloads exclusively through the Chrome Store.  You cannot save pictures, word documents, or videos to your Chromebook.  Also, you cannot download programs such as MS Office or Photoshop to a Chromebook.  So, if you are an art major that needs to use Photoshop, the Chromebook is not for you.  If you need to download programs that are not available through the Chrome Store, the Chromebook is not for you.  If you do not fall into this category, the Chromebook is probably a great option for you.  

This is where I will dispel the rumors about the Chromebook not being functional for most college students.   First, the price point, only $250 is great and beats almost any other laptop out there.  The other Chromebook products are similar in price and functionality. It is extremely light and easy to transport between classes, not weighing your backpack down.  To attack the critics that say a laptop is not functional without an internal hard drive, most students need to really think about what they really use their laptops for.  Most business students, like myself, only use their laptops to surf the web to do research and type word documents.  The Chromebook provides great WI-FI connectivity and allows you to store documents through Google Drive.  Google Drive is a cloud based storage system, and with the purchase of a Chromebook, you receive 100GB of storage (compared to the standard 2GB).  100GB is much more storage than 99% of any students will ever use.  You have the basic equivalents of MS Office through Google Drive, as well.  Google Docs functions as your word processor and does a great job.  An added bonus is that all Docs are stored to the drive and saved automatically, so you do not need to worry about losing your work.  Also, these Docs can be accessed on any computer that has an internet connection through the Drive.  No more flash drives or constantly emailing documents to yourself!  So far, I have really enjoyed owning a Chromebook and would not consider buying a laptop that ran on Windows or OSX anytime soon.  This machine provides everything that I need and does it well.  No gimmicks, just what I need.  

What is wrong with Flotrack's Business Model

For those of you who are not familiar with Flotrack, the website offers video based content for the long-distance running community.  Flotrack has amassed quite a following recently and does a great job engaging with the community through Twitter and other social media services.  Flotrack has built their current following on re-popularizing the often overlooked sport of distance running to the masses.  Their slogan, “Track is Back”, encapsulates their mission and purpose as a brand.  For the past three years, Flotrack has skyrocketed in popularity and done a great job promoting the sport in a unique and fun way.  

However, more recent business decisions have divided their customer base and have a poor value proposition.  Flotrack has hurt the running community by enacting a paywall for a portion of its content.  Before you call me naive, I understand that Flotrack is a business that, beyond all of the “re-popularizing the sport” intentions, needs to make money.  It is a business, Flotrack’s end goal is to make money and I am not suggesting that it become a fluffy non-profit.  The implementation and business practices of enacting this paywall is where Flotrack really missed the target.  First, let’s examine the demographics of who is consuming this content of Flotrack.  It is mainly high school and collegiate runners who are interested in learning more about the sport they participate in.  These target market does not have an excess of cash to spend on a premium video content service, especially struggling college students.  Flotrack offers two subscriptions: 20 dollars per month or 150 dollars per year (which is billed annually).  This is where the value proposition comes into play.  Comparing Flotrack to other video subscription sites that are protected by a paywall shows a substantial gap in quality and quantity of content provided.  Both Netflix and Hulu charge only 8 dollars per month for their premium services.  Simply put, Flotrack does not provide over 100 percent of the value that Netflix and Hulu both provide, that is simply ridiculous to state.  Also, one could argue that almost all of Flotrack’s video is shot, directed, produced, edited, etc by Flotrack, which drives costs up, whereas Netflix and Hulu simply aggregate and license content.  Another ridiculous argument for many reasons.  First, Netflix has developed several original series such as Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, and the reboot of Arrested Development.  Also, the license agreements for the massive amount of content that Netflix and Hulu provide is not a small expense.  Netflix paid 1.3 Billion in licensing fees in just the first quarter of 2013.  Yes, billion with a B.  Netflix is attempting to vertically integrate to cut down these exorbitant licensing costs.  The value provided by Flotrack compared to Netflix is not even close.

The way that Flotrack has run their premium model has not maximized profit and left some serious questions about their customer service.  Lets set up this example that has almost assuredly happened many times to potential customers for Flotrack.  I am a passionate mom who loves to watch my little kid run in his races.  However, his race is in California and I live in New York.  Pretty tough to go out and watch him, right?  Well thanks to Flotrack, there is a great live stream of the race so I can sit in the comfort of my home and watch my son run.  However, because Flotrack often negotiates exclusive deals with these meets, the only way to watch him run is through Flotrack Pro.  Understandably, the costs to live stream long track meets are probably substantial and I totally get why Flotrack would expect people to pay for this content.  Here is the kicker, there is no option to purchase the live stream as a standalone product.  This mom will have to either purchase the 20 dollar monthly plan or 150 dollar yearly plan.  Many people are not going to lock themselves into a month or year contract for something they are really only going to use for a couple hours.  Why can’t Flotrack charge 5 dollars per viewer for the meet?  The fact that Flotrack has not implemented this absolutely baffles me.  They are losing out on profits as well, from parents and others that would purchase the live streaming meet as a standalone product.  

Flotrack has a long way to go before they can truly demand 20 dollars per month from a value perspective.  I think that the initiative that Flotrack took to create premium content for the running community was a good one, however, it has been executed upon poorly.  Opening up the product to standalone videos live streaming meets could increase profitability and seems like a no-brainer.   I hope that Flotrack can correct the problems with their premium service, so that they can further advance their original mission of bringing track back.  

Is JCP a buy?

Amid the highly publicized turnaround of JC Penney’s, is the stock a buy?  Virtually all news outlets have been running negative stories about the company and many debt analysts have predicted that the floor for the stock could be very low.  Trading roughly around 7 dollars per share currently, the big question is how low the stock could go.  With the company losing 16.2B in market cap since 2007 and a projected 1B dollar loss in sales for 2013, it would seem that the stock has not hit rock bottom yet.   A large risk for potential and current investors is whether or not this floor is going to end in bankruptcy.  JCP seems to be caught in a cyclical downturn due to inventory problems.  Poor selling in Q1 and Q2 of 2013 have left the company with a surplus of inventory, which is frequently being sold at high discounts, and in turn squeezing the profit margin out the door.  The heavy discounting that has been in place at JCP stores has discouraged investors and a sell order is out on the stock from many financial analysts.  

To add to the turmoil, JCP severely confused investors over their efforts to raise 800 million in a secondary offering recently.  The confusion came about because CEO Mike Ullman stated only one day before the offering became public that JCP was sufficiently liquid and did not need to raise capital.  In response, stockholders have filed lawsuits due to the corporation failing to reveal its liquidity.  As noted, Mike Ullman stated a day before the secondary offering that their liquid structure was fine.  However, the 785 actually raised from the secondary offering will support their operations activities for the next two years.  I can see why investors would think they are being mislead.  Oh wait, I am not quite done yet with this secondary offering.  Goldman Sachs underwrote this offering, while, at the same time, Goldman Sachs analysts published that investors should be wary of a JCP defaulting.  Ouch!  

The holiday season will be a huge test for JCP and likely be the defining point for the company. Analysts are predicting this holiday season to be a discounting war from competitors Macy’s and Kohl’s.  This news is bad for the company, as this price war will continue to squeeze its gross margin.  If these margins get squeezed, JCP could burn through some of its liquidity in efforts to cover operating expenses.  This could end up putting JCP into the familiar situation that they are currently trying to dig themselves out of.  The company reports that it has enough capital to cover its operating expenses through 2015, but a poor holiday performance with low margins could shorten this projection.  

So, where is this floor?  Should I buy?  I believe that the floor has not been hit yet.  If the company was to liquidate to assets currently, it would be worth 324 million, or 1 dollar per share.  The holiday season will sink or swim for the company.  Expect shares to plummet if they do not meet sales expectations during the holiday season or if they are forced to cut down their margins again.