One of the great things about flying first class is that you often get to meet some interesting people. During the early eighties, I found myself on a flight from Los Angles to New York sitting next to an unknown, aspiring, young director named Oliver Stone, who was on his way to pitch a new film idea to potential investors.
Over six hours I enjoyed one of the most interesting conversations of my career, covering jungle combat in Vietnam, the ins and outs of movie making, and the harsh realities of Hollywood style accounting. The movie he was pitching turned out to be the 1987 industry cult classic, Wall Street.
The film sparked one of the greatest guessing games of all time, with everyone attempting to identify the real people behind the fictional characters. The villain, Gordon Gekko, was easy. That was Ivan Boesky, a risk arbitrageur who became the target of one of the first high profile insider trading case. Other links with reality were more obscure, and many real life traders on the floor of the NYSE simply played themselves as extras.
In the sequel, it is much easier to play who’s who, thanks to the financial crash that seems like was happening only yesterday. Gordon Gekko, released from federal prison, this time turns into legendary hedge fund manager John Paulson, whose character turns $100 million into $1.2 billion in a matter of months through buying up cheap credit default swaps on subprime debt. Hank Paulson and Tim Geithner are easy to pick out in a crucial meeting at the New York Fed. The chairman of “Keller Zabel” (Bear Stearns), one “Louis Zabel” (Ace Greenberg), throws himself in front of a train on the Lexington line. Well, this is fiction, after all. The $2 dollar/share sale price gave it all away.
Many people played themselves. The whole CNBC crowd was there, their descriptions of the crash so realistic that I thought it might be archival footage. So were Warren Buffet, Nouriel Roubini, Jim Chanos, and other notables. In fact, Chanos managed to get Stone to change the original script, switching the bad guy role from a hedge fund to Goldman Sachs (GS), known as “Churchill Schwartz,” as it should be. They are easily identified as the Wall Street firm that took out a big short in housing debt just before the crash.
Shia Labeouf does an outstanding job playing Jake Moore, an aggressive, razor sharp, earnest young investment banker. I have known so many like him over the years, both working for me and at competitors, that his performance really rung true. Michael Douglas, who has aged dramatically, seemed to be simply replaying the same role that he has in countless earlier films. To understand their characters, several actors opened up online trading accounts and did quite well in the market, with Shia alone reportedly booking some $20,000 in profits.
There are a few minor flaws in the film. It could have used more editing. There is a mention of “50% leverage” of subprime debt, when the correct figure was 50 times. The Chinese government investor doesn’t act like a real person from the People’s Republic, but as an American with a bad accent. No one has yet figures out the true meaning of Eli Wallach’s repeated bird calls.
In this incredibly target rich environment, Stone seems to take aim at so many enemies, That even an insider myself got confused. However, these are trivial complaints. If you want to have a hoot, go see the film, but expect to provide a simultaneous translation about all of the different instruments and strategies if you bring any non financial types with you.
Not wanting to spoil the ending, I’ll say no more, except that you can buy the original wall Street movie from Amazon by clicking here at http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Charlie-Sheen/dp/B00003CXDB/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1285432060&sr=1-2
And thanks to Oliver’s advice, I never got involved in financially backing a film project, despite countless invitations to do. It was the best trade I never did.
To see the data, charts, and graphs that support this research piece, as well as more iconoclastic and out-of-consensus analysis, please visit me at www.madhedgefundtrader.com . There, you will find the conventional wisdom mercilessly flailed and tortured daily, and my last two years of research reports available for free. You can also listen to me on Hedge Fund Radio by clicking on “This Week on Hedge Fund Radio” in the upper right corner of my home page.
[On weekends, we will be re-posting some pieces from the previous week that we wanted to call attention to again that some readers might have missed.]
After Disney named two longtime Internet execs–Playdom’s John Pleasants and Jimmy Pitaro of Yahoo–as co-presidents of its Internet unit, BoomTown did a longer interview with CEO Bob Iger about the entertainment giant’s next Web moves.
I always enjoy talking digital with Iger–who is pictured above in an interview I did with him in 2006 at the fourth D: All Things Digital conference–since he has been one of the old media moguls who seems unafraid of the challenges of new media.
While appropriately wary, Iger acted early and often in exploring digital initiatives at Disney (DIS) that others in Hollywood’s and New York’s media worlds were loath to consider.
“I have tried to keep two obvious philosophies,” Iger said in a phone interview yesterday. “First, that our current business not get in the way of adopting new technologies, and, second, that our business belongs on these new platforms.”
Easy to say, of course, but it’s still nice to hear, given the longtime, incessant and ultimately wearying push-and-pull between those who make bucks making content and those who make bucks making technology.
“My premise is that technology is about an opportunity for us,” said Iger. “And we cannot will it away and should not…because you can’t stop these things from happening.”
That’s presumably the impetus behind the hiring of Pleasants and Pitaro (picture here, left to right).
With an assist by recent Disney board member and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Pitaro came to his attention earlier this year, Iger said.
Pitaro left his job as SVP of Media at Yahoo (YHOO) last week.
And Pleasants was CEO of Playdom, the online social gaming company that Disney acquired for $763 million in late July.
The pair, who will report directly to Iger as co-chiefs of the Disney Interactive Media Group, replace outgoing head Steve Wadsworth.
The shift is a big move by the entertainment giant and yet another attempt to clarify and bolster its Web strategy, which has had a long and often rocky history.
Under the previous regime of former CEO Michael Eisner, for example, Disney bought search engine Infoseek and tried to create a portal called Go.com.
That failed, and was one of many efforts to define the media company’s Web goals.
More recently, in 2008, Disney gathered most of its Internet properties within DIMG under Wadsworth.
Still, money-making has not been part of the mix. In its most recent quarter, DIMG lost $65 million on revenue of $197 million.
In the interview about the new structure, Iger said: “I think we’ve built a framework of assets, and now is the time to create a structure in a more focused way. In splitting the divisions, we can focus more on them better and in a way they deserve.”
He outlined the new set-up, which will have Pleasants focus on the online gaming and mobile landscape and Pitaro on the Web arena.
Iger said he felt Pleasants and Pitaro brought different backgrounds to the task, as well as longtime experience in the Internet arena.
He said that upon considering a fresh approach, he felt that Wadsworth was “spread too thin,” given all the various online arenas for Disney.
In fact, today, Disney owns a number of big Internet properties, including Disney.com, Family.com and Club Penguin, although there does not seem to be a particularly cohesive strategy among them.
Of course, that’s no surprise, given it is all part of a multifaceted media company with a variety of businesses.
Due to its powerful content assets, said Iger, it might be a perfect time for a more cogent plan. With the explosion of devices, such as the Apple (AAPL) iPad and others, the importance of cooperation between content and technology is more critical than ever.
“I think a lot of technology companies are really finally ready to handle more premium content in a way that is beneficial to all of us,” said Iger.
And, he added, it was time for Disney to get more involved in technology, which was the reason for the purchase of Playdom. The move has made it more a publisher than a licensor.
“If we wanted to get significant in size, we need the investment to be greater,” Iger said about the big payout to get into the fast-growing social gaming arena.
And that has meant less emphasis on console games, on which he said Disney had focused too much in the past.
No longer–now Iger said he has planted Playdom, as well as its purchase of the Tapulous music app start-up, in a spanking new facility in Palo Alto, Calif., right in the heart of Silicon Valley.
“We need to be part of the culture and world there in a significant way,” said Iger. “And I believe I have convinced the senior team within Disney that Playdom is a huge opportunity for them.”
That includes online gaming related to units such as sports at ESPN, as well as other Disney brands, such as the theme parks or Marvel, into Playdom games.
While Pleasants will run his part of the show from Silicon Valley, Iger said, Pitaro will work out of Los Angeles on Web initiatives and in upgrading the Disney online experience.
“We want to make Disney sites more of a community and entertainment center than a marketing hub,” said Iger. “Where is gets complicated is the levels of exclusivity and the other places we want to distribute our content.”
That includes being part of the premium Hulu online video site, as well as perhaps even creating a Disney-branded pay service, but also being open to working more with Netflix (NFLX).
And that means a multifaceted approach to all kinds of payment models for Disney online, from subscription to advertising-supported to pay-per-view.
“In certain areas, we will be very aggressive with our content and in others less aggressive, to the extent that each offers us revenues,” said Iger. “Obviously, where there is potential cannibalization, we will be a little more careful…but we are going to push forward.”
When asked about the most obvious management issue–the possibility of clashing with two heads of one division (MySpace, anyone?), Iger said that while there was overlap, he thought the jobs Pitaro and Pleasants had to do were also wide-ranging and different enough.
Plus, added Iger, “They both report directly to me and I am there to see to it that it works.”
In other words, as Disney continues to move forward into the digital future, the content and technology buck stops, as it should, at Iger.
bench craft company reviews
Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Mavens
Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well.
Fox <b>News</b>' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim” « Oliver Willis
19 Responses to “Fox News' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim””. Jay says: October 15, 2010 at 9:13 am. Of course, anybody with a rational mind could understand that Kilmeade was specifically talking about 9/11 and was saying ...
Fox <b>News</b> Remains Far Ahead Of Cable <b>News</b> Competition During Pre <b>...</b>
Fox News Channel finished #4 in prime time on all of cable (total viewers) last week - the week before their ratings are likely to increase even further thanks to the miner rescue coverage. Here's a look at the rest of cable news:
benchcraft company portland or
One of the great things about flying first class is that you often get to meet some interesting people. During the early eighties, I found myself on a flight from Los Angles to New York sitting next to an unknown, aspiring, young director named Oliver Stone, who was on his way to pitch a new film idea to potential investors.
Over six hours I enjoyed one of the most interesting conversations of my career, covering jungle combat in Vietnam, the ins and outs of movie making, and the harsh realities of Hollywood style accounting. The movie he was pitching turned out to be the 1987 industry cult classic, Wall Street.
The film sparked one of the greatest guessing games of all time, with everyone attempting to identify the real people behind the fictional characters. The villain, Gordon Gekko, was easy. That was Ivan Boesky, a risk arbitrageur who became the target of one of the first high profile insider trading case. Other links with reality were more obscure, and many real life traders on the floor of the NYSE simply played themselves as extras.
In the sequel, it is much easier to play who’s who, thanks to the financial crash that seems like was happening only yesterday. Gordon Gekko, released from federal prison, this time turns into legendary hedge fund manager John Paulson, whose character turns $100 million into $1.2 billion in a matter of months through buying up cheap credit default swaps on subprime debt. Hank Paulson and Tim Geithner are easy to pick out in a crucial meeting at the New York Fed. The chairman of “Keller Zabel” (Bear Stearns), one “Louis Zabel” (Ace Greenberg), throws himself in front of a train on the Lexington line. Well, this is fiction, after all. The $2 dollar/share sale price gave it all away.
Many people played themselves. The whole CNBC crowd was there, their descriptions of the crash so realistic that I thought it might be archival footage. So were Warren Buffet, Nouriel Roubini, Jim Chanos, and other notables. In fact, Chanos managed to get Stone to change the original script, switching the bad guy role from a hedge fund to Goldman Sachs (GS), known as “Churchill Schwartz,” as it should be. They are easily identified as the Wall Street firm that took out a big short in housing debt just before the crash.
Shia Labeouf does an outstanding job playing Jake Moore, an aggressive, razor sharp, earnest young investment banker. I have known so many like him over the years, both working for me and at competitors, that his performance really rung true. Michael Douglas, who has aged dramatically, seemed to be simply replaying the same role that he has in countless earlier films. To understand their characters, several actors opened up online trading accounts and did quite well in the market, with Shia alone reportedly booking some $20,000 in profits.
There are a few minor flaws in the film. It could have used more editing. There is a mention of “50% leverage” of subprime debt, when the correct figure was 50 times. The Chinese government investor doesn’t act like a real person from the People’s Republic, but as an American with a bad accent. No one has yet figures out the true meaning of Eli Wallach’s repeated bird calls.
In this incredibly target rich environment, Stone seems to take aim at so many enemies, That even an insider myself got confused. However, these are trivial complaints. If you want to have a hoot, go see the film, but expect to provide a simultaneous translation about all of the different instruments and strategies if you bring any non financial types with you.
Not wanting to spoil the ending, I’ll say no more, except that you can buy the original wall Street movie from Amazon by clicking here at http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Charlie-Sheen/dp/B00003CXDB/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1285432060&sr=1-2
And thanks to Oliver’s advice, I never got involved in financially backing a film project, despite countless invitations to do. It was the best trade I never did.
To see the data, charts, and graphs that support this research piece, as well as more iconoclastic and out-of-consensus analysis, please visit me at www.madhedgefundtrader.com . There, you will find the conventional wisdom mercilessly flailed and tortured daily, and my last two years of research reports available for free. You can also listen to me on Hedge Fund Radio by clicking on “This Week on Hedge Fund Radio” in the upper right corner of my home page.
[On weekends, we will be re-posting some pieces from the previous week that we wanted to call attention to again that some readers might have missed.]
After Disney named two longtime Internet execs–Playdom’s John Pleasants and Jimmy Pitaro of Yahoo–as co-presidents of its Internet unit, BoomTown did a longer interview with CEO Bob Iger about the entertainment giant’s next Web moves.
I always enjoy talking digital with Iger–who is pictured above in an interview I did with him in 2006 at the fourth D: All Things Digital conference–since he has been one of the old media moguls who seems unafraid of the challenges of new media.
While appropriately wary, Iger acted early and often in exploring digital initiatives at Disney (DIS) that others in Hollywood’s and New York’s media worlds were loath to consider.
“I have tried to keep two obvious philosophies,” Iger said in a phone interview yesterday. “First, that our current business not get in the way of adopting new technologies, and, second, that our business belongs on these new platforms.”
Easy to say, of course, but it’s still nice to hear, given the longtime, incessant and ultimately wearying push-and-pull between those who make bucks making content and those who make bucks making technology.
“My premise is that technology is about an opportunity for us,” said Iger. “And we cannot will it away and should not…because you can’t stop these things from happening.”
That’s presumably the impetus behind the hiring of Pleasants and Pitaro (picture here, left to right).
With an assist by recent Disney board member and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Pitaro came to his attention earlier this year, Iger said.
Pitaro left his job as SVP of Media at Yahoo (YHOO) last week.
And Pleasants was CEO of Playdom, the online social gaming company that Disney acquired for $763 million in late July.
The pair, who will report directly to Iger as co-chiefs of the Disney Interactive Media Group, replace outgoing head Steve Wadsworth.
The shift is a big move by the entertainment giant and yet another attempt to clarify and bolster its Web strategy, which has had a long and often rocky history.
Under the previous regime of former CEO Michael Eisner, for example, Disney bought search engine Infoseek and tried to create a portal called Go.com.
That failed, and was one of many efforts to define the media company’s Web goals.
More recently, in 2008, Disney gathered most of its Internet properties within DIMG under Wadsworth.
Still, money-making has not been part of the mix. In its most recent quarter, DIMG lost $65 million on revenue of $197 million.
In the interview about the new structure, Iger said: “I think we’ve built a framework of assets, and now is the time to create a structure in a more focused way. In splitting the divisions, we can focus more on them better and in a way they deserve.”
He outlined the new set-up, which will have Pleasants focus on the online gaming and mobile landscape and Pitaro on the Web arena.
Iger said he felt Pleasants and Pitaro brought different backgrounds to the task, as well as longtime experience in the Internet arena.
He said that upon considering a fresh approach, he felt that Wadsworth was “spread too thin,” given all the various online arenas for Disney.
In fact, today, Disney owns a number of big Internet properties, including Disney.com, Family.com and Club Penguin, although there does not seem to be a particularly cohesive strategy among them.
Of course, that’s no surprise, given it is all part of a multifaceted media company with a variety of businesses.
Due to its powerful content assets, said Iger, it might be a perfect time for a more cogent plan. With the explosion of devices, such as the Apple (AAPL) iPad and others, the importance of cooperation between content and technology is more critical than ever.
“I think a lot of technology companies are really finally ready to handle more premium content in a way that is beneficial to all of us,” said Iger.
And, he added, it was time for Disney to get more involved in technology, which was the reason for the purchase of Playdom. The move has made it more a publisher than a licensor.
“If we wanted to get significant in size, we need the investment to be greater,” Iger said about the big payout to get into the fast-growing social gaming arena.
And that has meant less emphasis on console games, on which he said Disney had focused too much in the past.
No longer–now Iger said he has planted Playdom, as well as its purchase of the Tapulous music app start-up, in a spanking new facility in Palo Alto, Calif., right in the heart of Silicon Valley.
“We need to be part of the culture and world there in a significant way,” said Iger. “And I believe I have convinced the senior team within Disney that Playdom is a huge opportunity for them.”
That includes online gaming related to units such as sports at ESPN, as well as other Disney brands, such as the theme parks or Marvel, into Playdom games.
While Pleasants will run his part of the show from Silicon Valley, Iger said, Pitaro will work out of Los Angeles on Web initiatives and in upgrading the Disney online experience.
“We want to make Disney sites more of a community and entertainment center than a marketing hub,” said Iger. “Where is gets complicated is the levels of exclusivity and the other places we want to distribute our content.”
That includes being part of the premium Hulu online video site, as well as perhaps even creating a Disney-branded pay service, but also being open to working more with Netflix (NFLX).
And that means a multifaceted approach to all kinds of payment models for Disney online, from subscription to advertising-supported to pay-per-view.
“In certain areas, we will be very aggressive with our content and in others less aggressive, to the extent that each offers us revenues,” said Iger. “Obviously, where there is potential cannibalization, we will be a little more careful…but we are going to push forward.”
When asked about the most obvious management issue–the possibility of clashing with two heads of one division (MySpace, anyone?), Iger said that while there was overlap, he thought the jobs Pitaro and Pleasants had to do were also wide-ranging and different enough.
Plus, added Iger, “They both report directly to me and I am there to see to it that it works.”
In other words, as Disney continues to move forward into the digital future, the content and technology buck stops, as it should, at Iger.
benchcraft company scam
Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Mavens
Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well.
Fox <b>News</b>' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim” « Oliver Willis
19 Responses to “Fox News' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim””. Jay says: October 15, 2010 at 9:13 am. Of course, anybody with a rational mind could understand that Kilmeade was specifically talking about 9/11 and was saying ...
Fox <b>News</b> Remains Far Ahead Of Cable <b>News</b> Competition During Pre <b>...</b>
Fox News Channel finished #4 in prime time on all of cable (total viewers) last week - the week before their ratings are likely to increase even further thanks to the miner rescue coverage. Here's a look at the rest of cable news:
bench craft company reviews
bench craft company reviews
benchcraft company portland or
Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Mavens
Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well.
Fox <b>News</b>' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim” « Oliver Willis
19 Responses to “Fox News' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim””. Jay says: October 15, 2010 at 9:13 am. Of course, anybody with a rational mind could understand that Kilmeade was specifically talking about 9/11 and was saying ...
Fox <b>News</b> Remains Far Ahead Of Cable <b>News</b> Competition During Pre <b>...</b>
Fox News Channel finished #4 in prime time on all of cable (total viewers) last week - the week before their ratings are likely to increase even further thanks to the miner rescue coverage. Here's a look at the rest of cable news:
benchcraft company portland or
One of the great things about flying first class is that you often get to meet some interesting people. During the early eighties, I found myself on a flight from Los Angles to New York sitting next to an unknown, aspiring, young director named Oliver Stone, who was on his way to pitch a new film idea to potential investors.
Over six hours I enjoyed one of the most interesting conversations of my career, covering jungle combat in Vietnam, the ins and outs of movie making, and the harsh realities of Hollywood style accounting. The movie he was pitching turned out to be the 1987 industry cult classic, Wall Street.
The film sparked one of the greatest guessing games of all time, with everyone attempting to identify the real people behind the fictional characters. The villain, Gordon Gekko, was easy. That was Ivan Boesky, a risk arbitrageur who became the target of one of the first high profile insider trading case. Other links with reality were more obscure, and many real life traders on the floor of the NYSE simply played themselves as extras.
In the sequel, it is much easier to play who’s who, thanks to the financial crash that seems like was happening only yesterday. Gordon Gekko, released from federal prison, this time turns into legendary hedge fund manager John Paulson, whose character turns $100 million into $1.2 billion in a matter of months through buying up cheap credit default swaps on subprime debt. Hank Paulson and Tim Geithner are easy to pick out in a crucial meeting at the New York Fed. The chairman of “Keller Zabel” (Bear Stearns), one “Louis Zabel” (Ace Greenberg), throws himself in front of a train on the Lexington line. Well, this is fiction, after all. The $2 dollar/share sale price gave it all away.
Many people played themselves. The whole CNBC crowd was there, their descriptions of the crash so realistic that I thought it might be archival footage. So were Warren Buffet, Nouriel Roubini, Jim Chanos, and other notables. In fact, Chanos managed to get Stone to change the original script, switching the bad guy role from a hedge fund to Goldman Sachs (GS), known as “Churchill Schwartz,” as it should be. They are easily identified as the Wall Street firm that took out a big short in housing debt just before the crash.
Shia Labeouf does an outstanding job playing Jake Moore, an aggressive, razor sharp, earnest young investment banker. I have known so many like him over the years, both working for me and at competitors, that his performance really rung true. Michael Douglas, who has aged dramatically, seemed to be simply replaying the same role that he has in countless earlier films. To understand their characters, several actors opened up online trading accounts and did quite well in the market, with Shia alone reportedly booking some $20,000 in profits.
There are a few minor flaws in the film. It could have used more editing. There is a mention of “50% leverage” of subprime debt, when the correct figure was 50 times. The Chinese government investor doesn’t act like a real person from the People’s Republic, but as an American with a bad accent. No one has yet figures out the true meaning of Eli Wallach’s repeated bird calls.
In this incredibly target rich environment, Stone seems to take aim at so many enemies, That even an insider myself got confused. However, these are trivial complaints. If you want to have a hoot, go see the film, but expect to provide a simultaneous translation about all of the different instruments and strategies if you bring any non financial types with you.
Not wanting to spoil the ending, I’ll say no more, except that you can buy the original wall Street movie from Amazon by clicking here at http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Charlie-Sheen/dp/B00003CXDB/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1285432060&sr=1-2
And thanks to Oliver’s advice, I never got involved in financially backing a film project, despite countless invitations to do. It was the best trade I never did.
To see the data, charts, and graphs that support this research piece, as well as more iconoclastic and out-of-consensus analysis, please visit me at www.madhedgefundtrader.com . There, you will find the conventional wisdom mercilessly flailed and tortured daily, and my last two years of research reports available for free. You can also listen to me on Hedge Fund Radio by clicking on “This Week on Hedge Fund Radio” in the upper right corner of my home page.
[On weekends, we will be re-posting some pieces from the previous week that we wanted to call attention to again that some readers might have missed.]
After Disney named two longtime Internet execs–Playdom’s John Pleasants and Jimmy Pitaro of Yahoo–as co-presidents of its Internet unit, BoomTown did a longer interview with CEO Bob Iger about the entertainment giant’s next Web moves.
I always enjoy talking digital with Iger–who is pictured above in an interview I did with him in 2006 at the fourth D: All Things Digital conference–since he has been one of the old media moguls who seems unafraid of the challenges of new media.
While appropriately wary, Iger acted early and often in exploring digital initiatives at Disney (DIS) that others in Hollywood’s and New York’s media worlds were loath to consider.
“I have tried to keep two obvious philosophies,” Iger said in a phone interview yesterday. “First, that our current business not get in the way of adopting new technologies, and, second, that our business belongs on these new platforms.”
Easy to say, of course, but it’s still nice to hear, given the longtime, incessant and ultimately wearying push-and-pull between those who make bucks making content and those who make bucks making technology.
“My premise is that technology is about an opportunity for us,” said Iger. “And we cannot will it away and should not…because you can’t stop these things from happening.”
That’s presumably the impetus behind the hiring of Pleasants and Pitaro (picture here, left to right).
With an assist by recent Disney board member and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Pitaro came to his attention earlier this year, Iger said.
Pitaro left his job as SVP of Media at Yahoo (YHOO) last week.
And Pleasants was CEO of Playdom, the online social gaming company that Disney acquired for $763 million in late July.
The pair, who will report directly to Iger as co-chiefs of the Disney Interactive Media Group, replace outgoing head Steve Wadsworth.
The shift is a big move by the entertainment giant and yet another attempt to clarify and bolster its Web strategy, which has had a long and often rocky history.
Under the previous regime of former CEO Michael Eisner, for example, Disney bought search engine Infoseek and tried to create a portal called Go.com.
That failed, and was one of many efforts to define the media company’s Web goals.
More recently, in 2008, Disney gathered most of its Internet properties within DIMG under Wadsworth.
Still, money-making has not been part of the mix. In its most recent quarter, DIMG lost $65 million on revenue of $197 million.
In the interview about the new structure, Iger said: “I think we’ve built a framework of assets, and now is the time to create a structure in a more focused way. In splitting the divisions, we can focus more on them better and in a way they deserve.”
He outlined the new set-up, which will have Pleasants focus on the online gaming and mobile landscape and Pitaro on the Web arena.
Iger said he felt Pleasants and Pitaro brought different backgrounds to the task, as well as longtime experience in the Internet arena.
He said that upon considering a fresh approach, he felt that Wadsworth was “spread too thin,” given all the various online arenas for Disney.
In fact, today, Disney owns a number of big Internet properties, including Disney.com, Family.com and Club Penguin, although there does not seem to be a particularly cohesive strategy among them.
Of course, that’s no surprise, given it is all part of a multifaceted media company with a variety of businesses.
Due to its powerful content assets, said Iger, it might be a perfect time for a more cogent plan. With the explosion of devices, such as the Apple (AAPL) iPad and others, the importance of cooperation between content and technology is more critical than ever.
“I think a lot of technology companies are really finally ready to handle more premium content in a way that is beneficial to all of us,” said Iger.
And, he added, it was time for Disney to get more involved in technology, which was the reason for the purchase of Playdom. The move has made it more a publisher than a licensor.
“If we wanted to get significant in size, we need the investment to be greater,” Iger said about the big payout to get into the fast-growing social gaming arena.
And that has meant less emphasis on console games, on which he said Disney had focused too much in the past.
No longer–now Iger said he has planted Playdom, as well as its purchase of the Tapulous music app start-up, in a spanking new facility in Palo Alto, Calif., right in the heart of Silicon Valley.
“We need to be part of the culture and world there in a significant way,” said Iger. “And I believe I have convinced the senior team within Disney that Playdom is a huge opportunity for them.”
That includes online gaming related to units such as sports at ESPN, as well as other Disney brands, such as the theme parks or Marvel, into Playdom games.
While Pleasants will run his part of the show from Silicon Valley, Iger said, Pitaro will work out of Los Angeles on Web initiatives and in upgrading the Disney online experience.
“We want to make Disney sites more of a community and entertainment center than a marketing hub,” said Iger. “Where is gets complicated is the levels of exclusivity and the other places we want to distribute our content.”
That includes being part of the premium Hulu online video site, as well as perhaps even creating a Disney-branded pay service, but also being open to working more with Netflix (NFLX).
And that means a multifaceted approach to all kinds of payment models for Disney online, from subscription to advertising-supported to pay-per-view.
“In certain areas, we will be very aggressive with our content and in others less aggressive, to the extent that each offers us revenues,” said Iger. “Obviously, where there is potential cannibalization, we will be a little more careful…but we are going to push forward.”
When asked about the most obvious management issue–the possibility of clashing with two heads of one division (MySpace, anyone?), Iger said that while there was overlap, he thought the jobs Pitaro and Pleasants had to do were also wide-ranging and different enough.
Plus, added Iger, “They both report directly to me and I am there to see to it that it works.”
In other words, as Disney continues to move forward into the digital future, the content and technology buck stops, as it should, at Iger.
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Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Mavens
Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well.
Fox <b>News</b>' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim” « Oliver Willis
19 Responses to “Fox News' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim””. Jay says: October 15, 2010 at 9:13 am. Of course, anybody with a rational mind could understand that Kilmeade was specifically talking about 9/11 and was saying ...
Fox <b>News</b> Remains Far Ahead Of Cable <b>News</b> Competition During Pre <b>...</b>
Fox News Channel finished #4 in prime time on all of cable (total viewers) last week - the week before their ratings are likely to increase even further thanks to the miner rescue coverage. Here's a look at the rest of cable news:
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Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Mavens
Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well.
Fox <b>News</b>' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim” « Oliver Willis
19 Responses to “Fox News' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim””. Jay says: October 15, 2010 at 9:13 am. Of course, anybody with a rational mind could understand that Kilmeade was specifically talking about 9/11 and was saying ...
Fox <b>News</b> Remains Far Ahead Of Cable <b>News</b> Competition During Pre <b>...</b>
Fox News Channel finished #4 in prime time on all of cable (total viewers) last week - the week before their ratings are likely to increase even further thanks to the miner rescue coverage. Here's a look at the rest of cable news:
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Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Mavens
Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well.
Fox <b>News</b>' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim” « Oliver Willis
19 Responses to “Fox News' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim””. Jay says: October 15, 2010 at 9:13 am. Of course, anybody with a rational mind could understand that Kilmeade was specifically talking about 9/11 and was saying ...
Fox <b>News</b> Remains Far Ahead Of Cable <b>News</b> Competition During Pre <b>...</b>
Fox News Channel finished #4 in prime time on all of cable (total viewers) last week - the week before their ratings are likely to increase even further thanks to the miner rescue coverage. Here's a look at the rest of cable news:
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Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Mavens
Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well.
Fox <b>News</b>' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim” « Oliver Willis
19 Responses to “Fox News' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim””. Jay says: October 15, 2010 at 9:13 am. Of course, anybody with a rational mind could understand that Kilmeade was specifically talking about 9/11 and was saying ...
Fox <b>News</b> Remains Far Ahead Of Cable <b>News</b> Competition During Pre <b>...</b>
Fox News Channel finished #4 in prime time on all of cable (total viewers) last week - the week before their ratings are likely to increase even further thanks to the miner rescue coverage. Here's a look at the rest of cable news:
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Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Mavens
Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well.
Fox <b>News</b>' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim” « Oliver Willis
19 Responses to “Fox News' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim””. Jay says: October 15, 2010 at 9:13 am. Of course, anybody with a rational mind could understand that Kilmeade was specifically talking about 9/11 and was saying ...
Fox <b>News</b> Remains Far Ahead Of Cable <b>News</b> Competition During Pre <b>...</b>
Fox News Channel finished #4 in prime time on all of cable (total viewers) last week - the week before their ratings are likely to increase even further thanks to the miner rescue coverage. Here's a look at the rest of cable news:
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I was speaking with a young man recently about starting a new business making money online and he told me about all the different programs he had purchased online but were getting him nowhere. He discussed his frustrations with incomplete information, unfamiliar terms, and just the overwhelming amount of fluff with no real substance he had maxed out his credit cards to buy.
After he vented for a while, he asked a very simple question: "So where do I begin?"
I think my answer surprised him. "You need to start with yourself."
Starting a small business, especially a home-based business making money online, should never be about the business itself - it should be about YOU. You need to know yourself and what you really want out of this type of business. Not everyone should work for themselves and certainly not everyone can succeed online. There are certain characteristics, traits, and skills that are vital to success as a work-at-home entrepreneur. Running a small business from home will be one of the most difficult tasks you can ever attempt if it's not a good fit with your personality and traits.
So is running a business making money online right for you? Ask yourself these questions to gauge your talents, skills, and chances for success.
1. Do you really want to work for yourself? Without true desire, you will not be successful. There needs to be a reason why you want to pursue this business. Making the decision to create a business making money online can be life-changing. You need to make sure it is truly what you want. There are so many other options and opportunities in the world to make money. Running an online business is just one possible choice. If you pursue an online business for the wrong reason (you think it's an easy way to make money, for instance), you may well fail.
2. Are you willing to keep learning and growing? Look at any super-successful athlete, like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, or more recently Michael Phelps. Even at the height of their success, they never stopped practicing, never stopped trying to improve. If the best in the world surround themselves with coaches and are never satisfied with their skill level, what does that tell you? You must be willing to invest the time and effort in learning and improving.
3. Can you take responsibility for your own success or failure and prioritize activities for yourself? In other words, are you self-motivated? Self-motivation means you can act because the outcome has personal meaning to you.
4. Can you stick to your plan even when things go wrong? This is perseverance, or the refusal to accept "No" as a final answer. Starting a small business making money online is hard. There are obstacles and challenges, many of which you will not know about until you are up against them. The entrepreneur who refuses to admit defeat and keeps getting up and plugging away, over and over again, is the entrepreneur who will succeed online.
5. Do you know your limitations? Truly successful people know their own weaknesses and figure out ways to compensate. They hire help or outsource what they don't know how to do. Working for yourself does not mean always working by yourself.
Success comes from identifying your talents and desires and then working to use your talents to make your desires come true. After all, someone once said "work is only work when you'd rather be doing something else." So do a thorough inventory of your own traits, likes and desires before committing to running a business making money online from home.
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Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Mavens
Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well.
Fox <b>News</b>' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim” « Oliver Willis
19 Responses to “Fox News' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim””. Jay says: October 15, 2010 at 9:13 am. Of course, anybody with a rational mind could understand that Kilmeade was specifically talking about 9/11 and was saying ...
Fox <b>News</b> Remains Far Ahead Of Cable <b>News</b> Competition During Pre <b>...</b>
Fox News Channel finished #4 in prime time on all of cable (total viewers) last week - the week before their ratings are likely to increase even further thanks to the miner rescue coverage. Here's a look at the rest of cable news:
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Small Business <b>News</b>: Social Media Mavens
Social media has created a new vocabulary for small business, a vocabulary that encompasses not only marketing but networking and collaborating as well.
Fox <b>News</b>' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim” « Oliver Willis
19 Responses to “Fox News' Brian Kilmeade: “All Terrorists Are Muslim””. Jay says: October 15, 2010 at 9:13 am. Of course, anybody with a rational mind could understand that Kilmeade was specifically talking about 9/11 and was saying ...
Fox <b>News</b> Remains Far Ahead Of Cable <b>News</b> Competition During Pre <b>...</b>
Fox News Channel finished #4 in prime time on all of cable (total viewers) last week - the week before their ratings are likely to increase even further thanks to the miner rescue coverage. Here's a look at the rest of cable news:
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