2 March, 2009

Today’s Tabbloid
PERSONAL NEWS FOR marshal.m1@gmail.com

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM SETH’S BLOG

Behind the Scenes of a Looking for yes

MAR 02, 2009 11:06A.M.
Newspaper as it Says Goodbye |
I hate going to the post office in the town next to mine. Every time I go,
Justin R. Levy they look for a reason not to ship my package. “Too much tape!” “Not
enough tape!” “There’s a logo!”
http://post.ly/5PE
MAR 02, 2009 12:16P.M. On the other hand, I really enjoy the few times I have something weird to
ship fast... and I bring it to Fedex. The guy at the desk has a totally
Behind the Scenes of a Newspaper as it Says Goodbye | Justin R. Levy different approach. He’s not looking for a reason to say no, he’s looking
http://post.ly/5PE for an opportunity to say yes. “Here’s some tape, we’ll just add it right
here...”

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM The obvious reason is that the person at this post office has no incentive
to make a sale. Okay, fine. But why doesn’t she? Why is it okay to have
Behind the Scenes of a employees in any organization who look for a no? It turns out that the
post office in my little town has a few yes men, people who look for a
Newspaper as it Says Goodbye | reason to ship my package even though they work for a big government
bureaucracy.
Justin R. Levy
The same thing happens with the tech crew before I give a speech. About
http://tinyurl.com/d3rcjo via... 75% of the time, the lead tech guy (it always seems to be a guy) explains
MAR 02, 2009 12:16P.M. why it’s impossible. Impossible to use a Mac, impossible to use the kind
of microphone I like, impossible to use my own clicker, etc. And then, the
Behind the Scenes of a Newspaper as it Says Goodbye | Justin R. Levy rest of the time, using the same technology, the producer asks, “how can
http://tinyurl.com/d3rcjo via... I help make this work for us?” and everything is about yes, not no.

I don’t think it should matter whether or not you’re trying to make a

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM profit. If you’re out to provide a service, or organized to deliver a
product, then look for a yes. At every interaction.
Behind the Scenes of a
Newspaper as it Says Goodbye |
Justin R. Levy
MAR 02, 2009 11:21A.M.

http://marshalsandler.com/2009/03/behind-the-scenes-of-a-
newspaper-as-it-says-goodbye-justin-r-levy/...

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR marshal.m1@gmail.com 2 March, 2009

MARSHALSANDLER.COM

Behind the Scenes of a

Newspaper as it Says Goodbye |
Justin R. Levy
MAR 02, 2009 10:53A.M.

Image by jurvetson via Flickr

Mr Levy has written an excellent article-I use a Kindle but not for
newspapers -The Kindle can not create content and without content
News won't get read-

Behind the Scenes of a Newspaper as it Says Goodbye | Justin R. Levy.

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Spread the Word!

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR marshal.m1@gmail.com 2 March, 2009

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM A VC

The Business Of Social The Berkshire Hathaway 2008

Directory Assistance Annual Letter
MAR 02, 2009 03:46A.M. MAR 02, 2009 02:36A.M.

The Business Of Social Directory Assistance: I think Greg Sterling is spot I took some time on Sunday afternoon to read Warren Buffett’s annual
on. He’s talking about... letter. I don’t make it an annual practice to read the Berkshire Hathaway
letter as many do (nor have I ever been to the shareholder’s meeting
which Buffett calls “Woodstock for Capitalists”). But given that 2008 was
CHRISBROGAN.COM a year unlike any that I have ever witnessed, it seemed like the thing to
do on a cold and snowy afternoon.
The Business Of Social
Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger are the most successful stock
Directory Assistance market investors of the 20th century and they have consistently
MAR 02, 2009 03:30A.M. outperformed the public markets as shown by this table of annualized
returns that I put together with data from the first page of Berkshire’s
annual report (I love that Buffett starts with the numbers):

I think Greg Sterling is spot on. He’s talking about whether Google
should feel threatened by Twitter (and similar services) in Twitter’s
ability to deliver more concierge-level information. Frankly, I don’t care
about the “is Google threatened” angle of Sterling’s post as much as I am
interested in his idea for social directory assistance, or the idea of asking
Twitter for advice or help.
There’s a business opportunity here, and it isn’t even all that tricky. It’s
also a branding/marketing opportunity, kind of like the way visitor &
tourism bureaus are really mostly marketing for a locale’s businesses.
Think on this. What do you come up with?
Photo credit Marcin Wichary
It is very interesting to me that the past five decades have seen the S&P
significantly outperform the long term average for equities of around 7%
per annum. Even with the miserable performance of the public markets
this decade, we’d have to be flat for another decade at least for the
markets to average 7% per annum from 1965 on.
But Buffett and Munger’s performance is something else entirely. While
it is correlated to the market for sure, it has been so consistently superior
for so long that it is clear that they are doing something right (and
better).
So with that in mind, here’s my take aways from reading Warren’s letter.
1) The economy - It’s really bad. Warren says the “freefall in business
activity” is “accelerating at a pace that I have never witnessed before.”

2) TARP and related efforts to stablize the financial system - The Fed
“stepped in to avoid a financial chain reaction of unpredictable
magnitude. In my opinion, the Fed was right to do so.” But it will “bring
on unwelcome aftereffects.” One likely consequence is “an onslaught of
inflation.” And “major industries have become dependent on Federal
assistance, and they will be followed by cities and states bearing mind-
boggling requests. Weaning these entities from the public teat will be a

3
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR marshal.m1@gmail.com
political challenge. They won’t leave willingly.” That last line is classic
and true and Obama’s greatest challenge.
3) Berkshire’s two most important businesses are insurance and utilities,
sectors that “produce earnings that are not correlated to those of the
general economy.”
4) Buffet and Munger are value investors and contrarians. Warren says
“When investing, pessimism is your friend, euphoria the enemy” and
“Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality
merchandise when it is marked down” and “Beware the investment
activity that produces applause; the great moves are usually greeted by
yawns.” Words to live by.
5) Housing - Berkshire has exposure to the mortgage and housing
market by virtue of its ownership of Clayton Homes, the largest company
in the prefab home market. Buffett says “Enjoyment and utility should be
the primary motives for [home] purchase, not profit or refi possibilities.
And the home purchased ought to fit the income of the purchaser.” And
“an honest to God down payment of at least 10% [I think 20%] and
monthly payments that can be comfortably handled by the borrowers
income. That income should be carefully verified.”
6) History as a predictor of the future - “If merely looking up past
financial data would tell you what the future holds, the Forbes 400
would consist of librarians.”
7) Quants - “Beware of geeks bearing formulas.”
8) Lean and mean organizations - “BHAC: Who, you may wonder, runs
this operation? While I help set policy, all the heavy lifting is done by Ajit
and his crew. Sure they were already generating $24 billion of float along
with hundreds of millions of operating profit annually. But how busy can
that keep a 31-person group? Charlie and I decided it was high time for
them to start doing a full day’s work.” Wow. I’m stunned. And now I have
something other than Craigslist to use as an example of a lean and mean
profit generating machine.
9) Bubbles and Panics - “The investment world has gone from
underpricing risk to overpricing it.” And “When the financial history of
this decade is written, it will surely speak of the Internet bubble of the
late 1990s and the housing bubble of the early 2000s. But the US
Treasury bond bubble of late 2008 may be regarded as almost as
extraordinary.”
10) Derivatives - “Derivatives are dangerous” and “When Berkshire
purchashed General Re in 1998, we knew we could not get our minds
around the book of 23,218 derivative contracts, made with 884
counterparties. So we decided to close up shop. Though we were under
no pressure and we operating in benign markets as we exited, it took us
five years and more than $400 million in losses to largely complete the
task. Upon leaving, our feelings about the business mirrored a line in a
country song: “I liked you better before I got to know you so well.”
11) Risk and Responsibility - “It is my belief that the CEO of any large
4
2 March, 2009
financial organization must be the Chief Risk Officer as well. If we lose
money on our derivatives, it will be my fault.”
I’ll stop there because I really like lists with eleven entries. It’s a quirk of
my personality. All you have to do is read Warren’s letter (or even my
cliff notes version) to understand why he’s the best investor of the past
century. Common sense married with a native understanding of markets
and value is what produces the returns at the top of this post. Everyone
who invests and manages money for a living can take a lot away from
Berkshire Hathaway and Warren and his partner Charlie.
GOTHAM GAL
A Prayer for Owen Meany
MAR 02, 2009 01:29A.M.
I know many people go back and read books they love over and over,
particularly the classics. I do not fall under that category. I move
forward, just like everything else I do, it is about the new new.
On Xmas vacation this year, I had given Emily A Prayer for Owen Meany
to read. She had not opened it yet and I needed a book. I picked it up
and although I have read a few books in between, I finally finished it
again this weekend.
John Irving has always been one of my favorite authors. I have read 7 of
his novels. My first being The World According to Garp then moving
into Hotel New Hampshire and going back to Water Method Man. But,
A Prayer for Owen Meany is hands down my favorite.
You gotta love Owen Meany. He is one of the most memorable
characters in fiction. Irving also, as always, writes about the political
landscape and the atmosphere of the country based on the time the book
takes place. I’d say my second favorite of his books is Cider House
Rules. Controversial subject matter. Actually Owen Meany is pretty
controversial too but Owen in many ways diminishes what Irving is
grandstanding about.
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR marshal.m1@gmail.com 2 March, 2009

I do continue to read Irving as his latest books come out but nothing 1 tbsp. sugar
beats the scope of books he wrote from Garp through Cider House 2 cups flour
Rules. If you haven’t read Irving, pick up Owen Meany, reading it now
reminds me what a brilliant man Irving is as the book focuses on pre- 2 tbsp. melted butter
Vietnam into the height of the war. 1 tbsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk

Mix the dry with the wet. Once it is incorporated, stop. It is okay to be
lumpy. It is actually a good thing to keep warm in the oven because the
pancakes are a tad gooey in the middle and they finish off in the oven.

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM Serve with sliced bananas, maple syrup can you always toss some
chocolate chips or blueberries into the mix before making in the
great books on the craft of pan/griddle.

photography
http://tinyurl.com/aw7czj
MAR 02, 2009 01:16A.M.

great books on the craft of photography http://tinyurl.com/aw7czj

MARSHALSANDLER.COM
GOTHAM GAL
Eleven Common Craft Kindle
Pancakes
MAR 02, 2009 01:14A.M. Books for Your New Kindle |
Common Craft - Explanations
In Plain English
MAR 02, 2009 12:21A.M.

This Came through from Steve Rubel on my Google Reader You

can also follow Steve Rubel click on article title above

Eleven Common Craft Kindle Books for Your New Kindle | Common
Craft - Explanations In Plain English.

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• Eleven Common Craft Kindle Books for Your New Kindle

(commoncraft.com)

Josh decided to have 6 of his friends spend the night on Saturday night.
What do you serve 7 boys on Sunday morning? Buttermilk pancakes. I
doubled the recipe and not a crumb was left. I kept the pancakes warm
in the oven at 200 degrees while I whipped up the entire batch.

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR marshal.m1@gmail.com 2 March, 2009

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM

A story
MAR 01, 2009 06:52P.M.

A story

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM

Jessica’s blog
MAR 01, 2009 06:52P.M.

Jessica’s blog

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM

The Nearer Future According to

Cisco
MAR 01, 2009 05:45P.M.

The Nearer Future According to Cisco: If you want to hear about the
pending 4G mobile technology...

CHRISBROGAN.COM

The Nearer Future According to

Cisco
MAR 01, 2009 04:57P.M.

If you want to hear about the pending 4G mobile technology future,

Cisco has a special site dedicated to talking about it, plus a snazzy video:

What do you think?

edelman
MARSHAL SANDLER .COM
Spread the Word!
louisgray.com: SocialToo
Launches a War Against Auto-
DMs http://post.ly/5Fm
MAR 01, 2009 04:44P.M.

louisgray.com: SocialToo Launches a War Against Auto-DMs

http://post.ly/5Fm

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR marshal.m1@gmail.com 2 March, 2009

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM

I just updated my Squidoo page:

Reblogs-with-Zemanta /
http://tinyurl.com/5cscqf
MAR 01, 2009 04:44P.M.

I just updated my Squidoo page: Reblogs-with-Zemanta /

http://tinyurl.com/5cscqf

MARSHALSANDLER.COM

louisgray.com: SocialToo
Launches a War Against Auto-
DMs
MAR 01, 2009 03:58P.M.

Image of SocialToo

This is a very interesting article - If I had a following like Louis Gray

twitter is a support mechanism for their work world- this decision could
be very difficult-Mr Gray has one definite advantage since he like Steve
Ruble Chris Brogan Seth Godin Dave Winer Shel Israel and others are
excellent content creators-but staying in touch is important-

louisgray.com: SocialToo Launches a War Against Auto-DMs.

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(sociallyminded.co.uk)

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR marshal.m1@gmail.com 2 March, 2009

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM

The Future According to

Microsoft
MAR 01, 2009 03:45P.M.

The Future According to Microsoft: I’m a big fan of future visions from
technology companies. This...

MARSHALSANDLER.COM

Is There Such A Thing As A Blue

Chip Stock Anymore? Fred
Cool page alert for Marshal Sandler
Wilson
MAR 01, 2009 03:16P.M.

Spread the Word!

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM

stats http://tinyurl.com/c5klv9
MAR 01, 2009 03:55P.M.

stats http://tinyurl.com/c5klv9
Image via Wikipedia

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM I think this a great article obviously Mr Wilson knows the
mathematics of finance-
Is There Such A Thing As A Blue
The investment ratios and other ratios are key to understanding
Chip Stock Anymore? Fred financial statements. Our ratio calculation spreadsheets reduce
time and effort in calculating decision making ratios. They reduce
Wilson http://post.ly/5FQ risk for lenders and investors and enable owners, managers and
consultants to increase productivity and business profits. These
MAR 01, 2009 03:55P.M.
spreadsheets are bargain priced to provide a huge return on
investment
Is There Such A Thing As A Blue Chip Stock Anymore? Fred Wilson
http://post.ly/5FQ
Is There Such A Thing As A Blue Chip Stock Anymore?.

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR marshal.m1@gmail.com 2 March, 2009

AdaptiveBlue MARSHAL SANDLER .COM

I just updated my Squidoo page:

Reblogs-with-Zemanta /
http://tinyurl.com/5cscqf
MAR 01, 2009 02:43P.M.
Spread the Word!
I just updated my Squidoo page: Reblogs-with-Zemanta /
http://tinyurl.com/5cscqf

MARSHAL SANDLER .COM

CHRISBROGAN.COM
Reading: “Lobby Groups
The Future According to
Viewed”
Microsoft
MAR 01, 2009 02:52P.M. (http://twitthis.com/sozjax)
MAR 01, 2009 02:43P.M.
I’m a big fan of future visions from technology companies. This stuff
from Microsoft seems reasonable. It’s mostly an extrapolation from Reading: “Lobby Groups Viewed” (http://twitthis.com/sozjax)
Surface forward. I found it at Download Squad.

Video: Future Vision Montage MARSHAL SANDLER .COM

What’s your take? Seth’s Blog: Beware of trade

guilds maintaining the status
quo http://post.ly/5Ed
MAR 01, 2009 02:43P.M.
MARSHAL SANDLER .COM
Seth’s Blog: Beware of trade guilds maintaining the status quo
Seth’s Blog: Beware of trade http://post.ly/5Ed

guilds maintaining the status

A VC
quo http://tinyurl.com/b8uzvw
When Government Funds
via...
MAR 01, 2009 02:43P.M. Business
MAR 01, 2009 02:02P.M.
Seth’s Blog: Beware of trade guilds maintaining the status quo
http://tinyurl.com/b8uzvw via...

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR marshal.m1@gmail.com 2 March, 2009

Sheryl Crow. Only problem, we, the public, paid for this show! What’s
a bigger crime, scalping tickets to shows people want to see, after all,
that’s supply and demand, or major corporations filching money from
us in great quantities? Obviously, the latter. But now it’s become a
sexy issue. Because they’re truly doing it on our dime.

When our government starts spending our money backstopping

companies, then we start paying more attention to how those companies
are spending our money. And we don’t like it. It is going to get worse.

We are involved with a non-profit group here in NYC that is doing some
very important work around parks and public spaces. In the past they
had funding from companies like UBS and JP Morgan Chase. They can’t
tap that money anymore because those companies don’t want to be doing
anything “inappropriate” with public funds (as if supporting parks was
inappropriate). And since all money is fungible, all of these companies’
funds are public funds now.

Being the CEO of a company who has taken government money is like
having a big target on your back. Everything you do is going to be second
guessed, debated and discussed like never before. “Now it’s become sexy
because they are doing it on our dime” Well said Bob.

This whole situation sucks. When government funds business, it messes

everything up.

The Gotham Gal opened the NY Times this morning and she says to me MARSHAL SANDLER .COM
“didn’t we just put money into Citibank?”. The we being all of us
taxpayers here in the US. Gotham Gal:A story-Great Read
I said, “yes, a couple times I think”. And then she got upset. Because http://post.ly/5EA
there at the bottom of the NY Times is a big advertisement for Citibank MAR 01, 2009 02:00P.M.
(see the photo on the right).
Gotham Gal:A story-Great Read http://post.ly/5EA
She went on. “We are paying for that ad. In a newspaper that less and
less people read every day. No wonder they are in trouble”.

This issue contains posts from between

There’s something poetic, ironic, and iconic about that ad at the bottom Mar 01, 2009 02:00p.m. and Mar 02, 2009 09:00a.m..
of the NY Times today. It sums up so much of what we are all seeing and To change your settings, visit http://www.tabbloid.com/122.2b54ea92
feeling these days.

Old school companies sticking to old school approaches that don’t work
anymore. All the while new companies with new approaches are
succeeding and even thriving. Welcome to the macropocalypse.

But there’s a bigger issue here. Bob Lefsetz talked about it in his post last
night about Sheryl Crow and Maureen Dowd.

Northern Trust, a bank, took our money and then flew their peeps out
to Southern California for a golf tournament, where they wined and
dined them, even closed the House Of Blues so they could showcase

10