In order to determine the valuation of companies, Bhatnagar typically applies the following formula: [(Twitter followers x Facebook fans) + (# of employees x 1000)] x (RSS subscribers + daily page views) + (monthly burn rate x Google’s stock price)² and then doubles if it they use Ruby on Rails or if the CEO has run a business into the ground before. Bhatnagar admits the math is mostly a guess but points out that “the press eats it up.”

Amusing valuation technique. ;) ;)

Third-party logistics is a growing area at a time of globalization and cost-cutting of in-house supply-chain operations, said Kevin Sterling, senior transportation analyst at BB&T Capital Markets.

*Possible area for students to study and become experts in. How to integrate complex supply chain distribution channels.

Location is not necessarily the goal of the interaction. Rather, location is a piece of information that provides context to the user experience and can create a more relevant and engaging interaction with the consumer," Becker said.

The pie may have 6 pieces and they are NOT all the same. Looks can be deceiving. Choose the ones that are most relevant. Targeting the wrong consumers with the wrong info at wrong time (plus other factors) will lead to failure rather than success.

Some of the most sophisticated in-store technology is tied to consumers' mobile devices, ad executives say. Marketers are experimenting with ways to use mobile phones to provide customers with services and promotions as they shop. These range from truck reviews at car dealerships to allergy information tied to certain foods at supermarkets, Mr. Ross says.

Sounds like Location Based Services (Foursquare etc) are on to something here. Who can get the first score?

Why don't VCs start doing smaller series A rounds? The sticking point is board seats. In a traditional series A round, the partner whose deal it is takes a seat on the startup's board. If we assume the average startup runs for 6 years and a partner can bear to be on 12 boards at once, then a VC fund can do 2 series A deals per partner per year.

Startups and a little math.

Wal-Mart won't say how much it expects to benefit from the endeavor. But a similar pilot program at American Apparel Inc. in 2007 found that stores with the technology saw sales rise 14.3% compared to stores without the technology, according to Avery Dennison Corp., a maker of RFID equipment.

RFID item reading may be a huge help in inventory management.

Customer: Do you have the size I want in the back?

Clerk: The computer has verified that we have it. Someone will bring it out in several minutes. Would you like use to page you when we have it?

Customer: That would be great. There are a few more items I would like to grab. Thanks.

The pace of change has quickened during the recession. This will reduce the friction caused by marketing support (ad money and dealer marketing) required for weak and dying brands.

This consolidation may lead to more models per company. This might occur to differentiate a firms model lineup against its competitors.

Marketers may find more niches to target against. Single firm car manufactures can more readily make positioning moves to serve the unmet needs of unique markets.

Many of the people who see ads in a local newspaper or receive promotions in the mail have no interest in the restaurant that's being promoted, so much of the cost of buying advertising space or printing and mailing materials is wasted. Reaching out to customers electronically avoids those costs.

Are 90% of ad dollars wasted? So sad if that is so.

The first person after 5 p.m. who comes into the Corner Bar, has dinner and either Twitpics or tweets about it wins something," said Grace. "We have the hashtag #eattweet. Unless we had a hashtag, we wouldn’t know if we had a winner or not. It’s a good way to track, when you’re asking someone to do something, to include a hashtag, so that you can go back and see if they did.

What an interesting way to get diners to start a conversation.

Since returning to Apple as CEO in 1997, Jobs has made 13 acquisitions, according to Bloomberg data. Of those, five happened in the past seven months alone.

Looks like Apple is on a spending spree. Competition is growing.