September 5,
2006
Written
by Bob Meyer, Editor of BarterNews
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From the desk of Bob
Meyer...
09/05/06
Hewlett-Packard Creates ?Tycoon Currency? To Stretch Its IT
Resources
One of the most
respected high-tech companies in the world has created their
own currency to stretch company assets for innovation. The
new Hewlett-Packard Tycoon currency will be allocated and
based on actual use and need.
It?s a
virtualized, market-based system for managing and delegating
computer resources. Tycoon pulls a company?s IT (information
technology) services into an abstract utility layer, and
users can barter or bid for it within their own companies or
among others.
It works like
this: Within a company, employees are given a certain number
of tokens per year to spend on computing resources. The more
urgent a user deems the need, the more tokens he can bid for
use of the equipment. Users who provide resources can, in
turn, spend their earnings (tokens) for using resources
later on.
Hewlett-Packard
has been testing Tycoon since November 2004 at its Singapore
offices and in several European locations. This summer a
pilot project took place with a Scandinavian company.
Engineers will use Tycoon to bid on access to high-powered
computers needed for simulations.
H-P says marketing
a commercial Tycoon won?t happen anytime soon because the
technology represents a major shift in business processes.
But in the future it?s expected to provide businesses that
otherwise couldn?t afford high-powered computing, to be able
to access leading-edge technology through Tycoon.
Joe Uva Featured Keynote Speaker In Chicago
Joe Uva, president
& CEO of OMD Worldwide and president of Omnicom Media, will
be the keynote speaker at the Broadcast Advertising Club of
Chicago and the Chicago Interactive Marketing Association?s
day-long program on September 21. The event will focus on
the convergence of the broadcast and interactive platforms.
As president of
Turner Entertainment Group Sales & Marketing, Uva developed
integrated marketing programs and oversaw its barter and
trade operations.
For more
information on the event:
http://www.chicagoima.org.
Travel Web-sites Growth Soaring
The online travel
boom continues as the number of travel web sites has grown
by 25% in the past twelve months. Over half of those global
sites are located in the United States.
Here are the top
five countries that host travel web sites, according to
research by Internet Security Systems:
1. USA
(60.4%)
2. Germany (12.9%)
3. Great Britain (5.0%)
4. Austria (4.2%)
5. Canada (2.9%)
6. Other (14.5%)
California, Twenty Other States Have Laws On
Scrip Expiration
Regarding the inquiry on expiration dates for various types
of scrip, electronic gift card and paper gift certificates,
the state of California banned expiration dates for said
items back in January, 1997. (See
Tuesday Report dated March 14, 2000.)
Six years later, in 2003, new consumer protections were
added in AB 2473. That bill required any company issuing a
gift certificate to honor that certificate even if the firm
filed for bankruptcy.
California passed another law specifically prohibiting
expiration dates or service fees on gift cards sold
after January 1, 2004. The only exception were cards that
hadn?t been used in more than 2 years and with a value of
less than five dollars.
(For further information on such matters one should consult
with an attorney for the most recent and specific details on
such expirations in your state.)
All back issues of
"From the Desk...? can be accessed by
clicking
here.
(Please feel
free to forward our newsletter to your friends and
colleagues. We have a ?box? at the end of the
newsletter for your convenience.
See you next week. . .) |
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IMS Gobbles Up Nation?s Largest
Independent Trade Exchange...Schacht & Varner?s NTA/ITA
In 2003, a BarterNews cover story (issue #61) was
titled, ?IMS Quietly and Methodically Is Building A Barter
Juggernaut!?
The story began, ?Don Mardak?s gentlemanly, at times reserved
demeanor masks a competitive zeal and a will to win that is second
to none in the commercial barter industry.? (Click here to read
cover story.)
24-40covstory61.pdf
National Trade Association (NTA) and it?s
subsidiary, Illinois Trade Association (ITA), in business since 1983
and the largest independent trade exchange in America, is joining
forces with International Monetary Systems (OTCBB:INLM). IMS Barter
will now possess a huge client base of 15,000 quality member
businesses and over 22,000 cardholders.
Don Mardak, CEO of IMS, was ecstatic, ?This
merger of America?s two leading trade exchanges adds a whole new
dimension to our company. NTA/ITA owners Jack Schacht and Joan
Varner are two of the most respected people in the barter industry.
?Their visionary leadership over the years has
set new standards for all of us and has established a level of
excellence that few have been able to emulate. We couldn?t be more
pleased than to be associated with these two outstanding people.
Both will work with us during the transition and will continue to
share their wisdom with us in the future.
?From our perspective, NTA/ITA is the ?Jewel in
the Crown? among our acquired trade exchanges. This transition will
have a greater impact on our revenue and trade volume than any
others have had in the past.?
Mardak also emphasized that in the acquisition
he would be utilizing the personnel of NTA?s National Trade
Division, which provides IMS Barter with an instant entree into the
world of corporate barter, where larger transactions are consummated
between manufacturers, major hotel chains, airlines and national
advertising venues.
For more information on IMS:
http://www.internationalmonetary.com.
Additional details regarding the
merger can be seen in the form 8-K filed by International Monetary
systems at:
http://www.sec.gov.
Trade Exchange Owners...
Build Rapport & Empathy With Your Client Base!!
The
most powerful marketing tool in the barter industry, The
Competitive Edge newsletter, is a monthly, ready to use,
professional 4-page publication...no work is needed! (Click
here.)
Jack Schacht, Joan Varner Were
Heroes To Nascent Barter Industry
After working all day to cover
the bills, Jack Schacht would sit down at his kitchen table after
dinner and work late into the night on his real passion?the barter
business. Fighting continual fatigue and the financial needs of the
new startup was a mental challenge.
Months later, Vasser-educated
Joan Varner heard of the possible business opportunity with Schacht
and arranged a meeting with him. It was a leap of faith when she
courageously stepped up to the plate and invested the financing
needed to jump-start the dream. Thus was born Illinois Trade
Association (ITA).
What a unique partnership.
Schacht, the ambitious dreamer with his sky-high aspirations and
sometimes far-out ideas, was tempered by Varner?s level-headed,
always practical, questioning and balanced approach. It was a match
built on mutual respect for each other?s contributions...and it has
thrived for 24 years.
For decades it was their
?lead-by-example? philosophy, which built ITA into the largest
independently-owned trade exchange nationwide, that inspired many
struggling peers to persevere...staying the course on a
roller-coaster-like ride in a young and struggling industry.
In addition, with their large
member base, they routinely traded ITA based goods and services to
their peers so they could enhance and improve their operations.
Schacht, an aspiring
Shakespearean actor while in college, would regularly provide a
motivational stimulation to attendees at the industry?s annual
conventions. Along with his poignant observations and pithy advice
was his upbeat, can-do attitude. ?Yes it can be done, but you must
catch the fire!? was always his clarion call.
Without a doubt the founders of
ITA had an immense and positive impact on the barter industry.
Much more than they will ever realize. These two progressive
leaders now move onward toward the proverbial sunset, to enjoy the
fruits of their achievements.
The industry thanks you, Jack
and Joan, for your considerable contributions, and we wish you all
the best in your future endeavors.
The following listings are
a service to our readers. Please note that
due diligence is advised
in all of your business transactions...cash or barter.
Talk Radio Syndicator Willing
To Barter Big-Time!
National
Exposure On Full Trade
National Trade Association?s
corporate trade broker Jill Halper has a contract with a major
radio syndicator and can provide your company national (or
regional) coverage on trade.
Several prominent, national
radio talk shows, covering an array of topics, are obtainable.
To build your company?s brand with this vast national
exposure that?s available on trade, contact Jill Halper via
e-mail at
jhalper@ntatrade.com.
Steck Says New Alliance Doomed
In last week?s Tuesday Report we noted the alliance of
Travelocity and Points.com. Peter Tucker then provided his analysis
of the possibility of the commercial barter industry paralleling the
alliance efforts.
(http://www.barternews.com/points_com_unlocks_14_trillion_frequent_flyer_treasure.htm)
Herb Steck (ITEX broker) replied: This is simple
math. A round trip ticket on American Airlines is 25,000 points.
This equals about $112.50 at Amazon.com through Points.com.
Who would give up a round trip ticket worth up to $650 for
$112.50 at Amazon.com? I see this whole system failing in a matter
of months at these ratios. A 500% markup is a little too much.
Hotel
General Managers
Here?s
The Easiest $100,000 You?ll Ever
Bring To The Bottomline!
Collect
cash, as usual, from the guest accounts staying at your
facility that require the use of professional AV services.
And rather than shouldering your ongoing employee costs, or
your current vendor?s cash agreement for AV services,
here?s a much better alternative:
Work
with a proven national vendor (a sterling 25-year track
record) who will provide all of the AV services for your
hotel on a 100% TRADE BASIS! (Payment to be in the form of
hotel rooms and/or trade dollars.)
Your hotel?s annual AV billings must be a minimum of $200,000, and this
offer is available only in the continental United States.
For a
confidential introduction contact Bob Meyer via e-mail:
bmeyer@barternews.com.
(Please type in AV Services On Trade in the subject
line of your e-mail.)
Attention Trade Exchange Owners:
If your
member hotel(s) have a minimum of 10,000 sq. feet of meeting
space and annual billings of at least $200,000 for AV
services this is a great opportunity to earn substantial
cash service fees on the hundreds of thousands of trade
dollars your hotel member will be paying the vendor. Contact
Bob Meyer at the above e-mail. |
Top Bond Wizard Provides Sobering
Longer-Term View
Bill Gross, CEO of Newport Beach-based Pimco, the world?s largest
bond fund with $450 billion in fixed income securities, shared his
thoughts regarding the housing market.
?To think that all the boomers have to do is sell their homes to
pay for retirement and health care begs the legitimate question of
?to whom and at what price??
?If there are fewer X?ers and Y?ers to unload even their second
homes to, rudimentary supply/demand curve analysis suggests prices
must adjust downward to facilitate the transfer, incorporating the
ability of immigrants and future first-time buyers to afford what
now seem to be unaffordable starter homes.
?Similar logic applies to holdings of domestic stocks, bonds or
any other ?asset? which boomers count on individually to fund their
retirement needs, but which collectively must be unloaded to a
smaller demographic of tentative buyers.?
Pimco?s Fed watcher Paul McCulley provided his short-term
outlook:
?We are convinced the property market is going to continue to
surprise on the downside, and the knock-on effect on consumer
spending and job creation is also going to surprise on the
downside.?
Get
New Money-Making Ideas And Valuable Contacts!
You can obtain
useful, informative ideas and contacts in every available back-issue
of BarterNews.
Challenging Times Ahead For Radio Industry
A new analyst
report suggests that radio is in for some tough times ahead. James
Boyle, vice president and senior analyst for CL King & Associates
(an investment research firm with offices in New York and Boston),
paints a less than flattering picture of the radio industry.
?Why should
the plunge radio stocks have taken the last 30 months reverse itself
when the industry?s prospects haven?t brightened sufficiently? ?All
the trends are weak to disappointing, if not downright depressing,?
he contends...and this from an analyst whose family has been in
radio for 50 years.
Among the red
flags pointed out by Boyle: Erosion. He suggests it is worse than
industry observers realize and is accelerating. ?Radio listenership
is actually declining faster than analysts, investors and
journalists thought.?
He says the
rate of that erosion is inexplicably faster among women, which he
points out is counter to conventional wisdom. ?This is not a good
trend,? Boyle notes.
According to
his report, radio?s latest quarterly ratings book reported the worst
year-over-year drop in the last 10 years, with listenership down
nearly 3%.
Additionally,
the industry?s traditionally strong advertising categories are
cutting back. The CL King report says the telecom industry, for
example, purchased 35% fewer radio spots in 2005 compared to 2004.
The auto industry, another important buyer of radio, is also looking
elsewhere.
?Too many of
us have for too long kidded ourselves that the radio sector was, is,
or is soon to be poised for a marked upturn,? Boyle admits in his
report.
Our Web Site Has A Search Tool For You
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wondered if a certain topic, person, or organization has been
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