Tough Times for the 'Times'

Due to the current state of our economy, the New York Times has been seeing a decline in their advertising revenue and an accumulation of debt. This has forced them to cut more jobs after having just cut 100 less than a month ago.

At least 25 people on the editorial staff will lose their jobs to staffers of The Gainesville Sun. The New York Times and The Gainesville Sun are both operated under the same parent company, The New York Times Co.

When the Times was forced to cut jobs last month, they either bought out the employees or laid them off in order to compensate for the lost advertising revenue. On top of all of this, those employees who are not members of a labor union, will not be getting a contribution to their end of the year pensions.

I think that this is very unfortunate, and I understand that it is not only the New York Times that is having this issue. Many of the popular newspapers around the country are being forced to take action due to the current economic crisis. Hopefully when the economy starts to recover, newspapers will be able to gain more profit off of advertising, and in return hire more employees.

Burberry Going Online to Promote

Burberry, a fashion company famous for their trench coat, have created a social networking site that will allow customers to share their coat stories.

Angela Ahrendts, who runs Burberry, hopes to move the company into a new age by integrating the internet into it's advertising. Artofthetrench.com is an interactive site where the viewer can move around with the mouse and look at pictures of people in Burberry coats. Accompanying the pictures are links that allow the viewer to comment on or 'like' the picture of the coat.

Many high fashion designers have deserted the web. They see it as a place for bargain hunters and not the place for haute couture, but the internet seems to be the new wave for high fashion. Those who have the means to purchase high end merchandise do surf the internet after all.

The Burberry trenchcoat has become an icon in the fashion world for quite sometime now. Ms. Ahrendts said , "it’s our differentiator. It’s not so different from what competitors do. Maybe one was born from shoes and another from luggage; we come from a coat. It’s our job to keep that category hot and cool and relevant for all ages.”

That is exactly what they are doing with this new social networking site. I love keeping up with what is going on in the fashion world, and I have a great appreciation for fashion icons. The Burberry trench is a timeless classic that should be kept alive with innovative advertising ideas.

Mac Interferes in PC Users Searches

Not only has Apple degraded Personal Computers over the past few years with the "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" commercials, but they have taken it a step further with interfering in searches for Windows 7 on Google.

Google is a popular way to advertise for any business. If a user searches for Windows 7, not only will they get information on the new operating system, but they will also have the option to click and buy the upgrade.

Attached is a picture that shows what will pop up along with these options. It is an advertisement for a link to Apples' website, that leads you straight to a page that tells you why your next computer should be a Mac.

I am a Mac user, and I am extremely happy with how they run. Being a windows user in the past, I find that a Mac is much easier to use and I encounter less problems with the software. I actually find it funny that Apple has gone to the extreme of intruding on Google searches for Windows 7. You gotta do what you gotta do right?