The Wall Street Journal today reports that Yahoo's earnings fell 26% because of a slowdown in display-ad sales.
"Yahoo also reported its fourth consecutive quarterly slowdown in the growth rate of its display-ad sales—its most important business, which includes graphical, interactive and video ads. Display-ad sales revenue was flat from a year earlier."Also from WSJ, The USPS continues to struggle with their business model as traditional mail delivery bites the dust in the wake of the long tail of other delivery methods. From faxes to FedEx, the USPS is struggling.
"Plummeting demand for traditional mail delivery, which funds the postal service, has created a looming fiscal crisis that has Congress, postal employees and government officials weighing a venture into non-mail business as a way to stay afloat."As online businesses try to fit their profit margin into the long tail economy, they find they don't always fit. As traditional business face competition they can't overwhelm, they also don't always fit. It's interesting watching the ways that business is changing. I was at a meeting the other day where the question was posed: What is the biggest challenge for FedEx in the coming years? The cost of fuel is going to continue to rise and will tap the profit margin. At the same time, FedEx is one of those deal changers who changed the way that business was done in the past (and who had directly impacted the USPS). They need to remain flexible and willing to find new ways to deliver the package in order to stay in business. Finding new energy sources will impact the way they have always found to deliver the package. They are currently experimenting with blogs and twitter accounts as ways to empower their employees and clients. I'm wondering what other social media means and methods they will arrive at. I don't think that the use of Facebook & Twitter by businesses is always effective or that the folks using these methods always know what they are trying to accomplish by promoting a business in this way.
