The Western World

So scary because it is true

You could ask the question, "Do companies think that their customers are all complete idiots"?

You don't really want an answer to that question do you?

Green Tea Coke?

What is it with Japan an oddly flavored soft drinks? It was only a few years ago that Pepsi *very* briefly experimented with Cucumber flavored Pepsi.

You think I am kidding don't you? Good thing I took a picture.

Well, one small miscalculation by Pepsi. They actually made it taste like cucumber. Seriously. Spot on, and so, so wrong. This is one drink that did not stay on the shelves long, and I doubt it was due to high sales.

Now Coke enters the "because science can anything" game with the Coca Cola plus line of drinks.

"plus" in this case means some healthy ingredient such as vitamin C or Catechin. In other ways, it's really a "minus" as this series is targeted to women by keeping it no-calorie and using Sarah Jessica Parker in the advertisements. Check out the webpage here.

So the Coca Cola plus Catechin drink is supposed to be flavored like green tea. I've poured myself a glass and am drinking it down while writing this post. My assessment is...

Not bad. Really, Tastes kind of like Coke Zero. But actually a more mellow aftertaste. I actually think it's pretty good.

But I have no idea what they are talking about when they say Green Tea.

No green tea flavor at all that I can taste. But as experiments go it could be worse.

Trust me on that.

Back to business in Japan

The beginning of April marks the new year in Japan. Students head to school in new, crisp uniforms, and college graduates known as freshers head to their new jobs. Although this year is perhaps a bit different than years past.

According to Asahi 44% of Japanese of Japanese companies are planning to reduce their hiring next year. This is a pretty shocking development coming from a country that is also in the midst of a population induced labor shortage.

Asahi.com:   44% of firms hiring fewer recruits for '10

and things just keep getting worse. According to the International Labor Organization, Japan ranks at the bottom for jobless benefits.

Breitbart.com: Japan's jobless benefit conditions worst among industrial nations: ILO+

An ILO report that covers eight major countries including emerging economies said Brazil has the highest share of jobless workers receiving no benefits at 93 percent, followed by 84 percent for China, 77 percent for Japan and 57 percent for the United States and Canada. The share slips below 20 percent for France and Germany.

The high Japanese share of jobless workers receiving no unemployment benefits was taken to indicate that Japan has failed to develop safety nets for temporary and other nonregular employees while accelerating deregulation of temporary staffing services.

the lack of the government to prepare for such an environment is going to have lasting effect, both economically and sociologically in Japan for decades to come.

Google launches Google Ventures

http://www.google.com/ventures

Google jumps into the VC world. I'm really curious about the direction that Google will take with this.

The better questions I guess is will Google be able to risk capital in start up incubation without becoming truly evil? I'll be watching this one closely. VERY closely.

How to sell video games to women (and other great myths)

A leaked(?) training video from Gamestop, the soon to be video game cabal in the US that has children selling crack on the streets to get the latest copy of Street Fighter IV.

Using Social Technology to find a job

Well, high on my list of things to do now is to try and plot a new career path.  One of the good things about the current challenging climate is that i can say that at least I am in good company.  While the job market is certainly tougher than it has been in the last few years, technology has started to fill in the gaps and make things easier.
In the last few years it has become obvious to businesses that they must use the web to stay competitive, I think the same goes for those looking for work or business.  I'm working on developing my strategy for this, but for now I am trying to gather as much information and advice as I can.
Mashable is of course a great resource for information on Social Technology.  It has a job board for related jobs and also articles and tips.  Here is a great list of Social Technology resources used by Job Hunters.

Mashable: Top 10 Social Sites for Finding a Job

Good luck hunters!

A drunk, a crook, and a politician walk into a bar...

...and then he asked the bartender for a drink.

Could it be that we are finally in the last days of PM Aso's (pronounced A$$hole) government?  Another great article by Bill Pesek.

Bloomberg: Five Reasons for Japan’s Leaders to Get Drunk: William Pesek

He certainly doesn't sugar coal things.

Things will get far worse. You know an export-driven economy is in trouble when exports plunged an unprecedented 13.9 percent last quarter. The collapse in demand for Corolla cars and Bravia televisions comes as the G-7 says the global slump will last for much of 2009. It’s probably more like 2010, too.  Big losses are forecast at Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp. and Hitachi Ltd., all of which are firing thousands of workers. That will accelerate the drop in household spending and deepen the recession. The current quarter could be even uglier.

Of course the event that may finally have tipped things over has become an internet sensation of it's own.  Finance Minister Nakagawa's drunken press conference is a warm happy memory I will take to my grave.

2009: A year of shoes?

Wow, that was quick!  Well, here's a wrapup of 2009 by Bill Pesek, arguably one of the few great minds at Bloomberg.

Here's a peek at next month.

Feb. 2: China began using its hundreds of billions of dollars of worthless U.S. Treasury notes and bonds to sop up pollution in its rivers and lakes. The Chinese threw in the towel after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner renamed the 10 cent coin the dollar. Faced with a torrent of criticism about whether the White House had the authority to do such things, President Barack Obama said: “Yes, we can.”

Bloomberg.com: This Year Will Be Crazier Than 2008