MetaFilter posts tagged with corporate and business

The Brilliant Issue

Non Prosequitur — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:06:26 -0800

I asked Nathan Myhrvold, C.E.O. of Intellectual Ventures and widely considered to be one of the smartest people in technology, if he is brilliant. "If you put yourself in that camp, you might be correct," he teased. "But then, you're also an asshole." The Brilliant Issue profiles Porfolio's picks for best game-changers, upstarts, rebels, connectors and other influencers. yes it's mainstream Condé Nast bs but it's also fun!

I'll Buy That

bassjump — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:30:47 -0800

Selling out is becoming trendy. Last fall, Burt’s Bees was sold to Clorox. It turned out then that former owner Roxanne Quimby bought out co-founder Burt himself in 1999 and sold 80% of the company to AEA Investors in 2004; this was just the final stroke of the pen. The Body Shop became a part of L’Oreal in 2006 (previously), the same year Tom’s of Maine was bought out by Colgate. Estee Lauder acquired Aveda back in 1998. If you start getting into food, Stonyfield Farm is owned by Danone. Nantucket Nectars has been part of Cadbury Schweppes since 2002. And remember Fresh Samantha juices? Bought by Odwalla, which itself is owned by Coca-Cola. Ben and Jerry’s became a part of Unilever back in 2000, and now the company’s name is often a symbol of an acquisition gone awry. For better or worse, organic is now fluffy fodder for mass marketing. Even bleach-maker and Burt's Bees-buyer Clorox recently announced its own Green Works line of products. So you might ask: which companies are making an effort to be green and haven’t sold out (yet)? Here’s one list. Problem? It includes the founders of: - Seventh Generation, which has had some interesting encounters with giant retailer Walmart and has partnered with that other giant retailer, Target; - Stonyfield Farm, which as mentioned above is now a part of Danone, but whose business ethics are defended here; and - Whole Foods, which is trying to buy out Wild Oats but keeps butting heads with the FTC. But don't lose all hope. There are still lots of names on that list, and many green and greenish companies out there: Ecover, Dr. Hauschka, Dr. Bronner, Method, Kiss My Face, and heaps more. (These aren't endorsements, just examples.) There's advice on being green (I know, it ain't easy.) Or you could make your own.

The end of the oldest Black-owned store on Harlem's 125th Street?

allterrainbrain — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 01:48:03 -0800

Harlem's commercial and cultural backbone, 125th Street, has been gentrifying fast; many of its Black-owned businesses have been forced out by high rents and replaced by branches of white-owned national chain stores. The street's best-known cultural centers remain (notably the Apollo Theater and the Studio Museum in Harlem), but now, its oldest surviving Black-owned store, The Record Shack, is facing eviction. Owner Shikulu Shange, along with other Harlem residents, will lead a town meeting next week to discuss strategies for keeping Black economic development alive in Harlem and in NYC (as of the 2000 U.S. Census, NYC's five boroughs were home to more than 98,000 of about 129,000 Black-owned businesses in all of New York State).

RIP MIX BURN SUCKAS

raaka — Fri, 11 Apr 2003 05:40:15 -0800

Apple Reportedly in Talks to Buy Universal Music!

found missing — Mon, 29 Jul 2002 17:27:18 -0800

“There are ethical ways to cut costs, and then there is executive greed. Your comment at the recent shareholder's meeting will be your legacy, like it or not (‘I have to make that much money, I have an expensive wife.’).” –says a disgruntled EDS employee to his CEO, Dick Brown in an internal company memo. FuckedCompany rides the corporation bashing bandwagon and branches out to give you further insight into some of your favorite companies. Subscribers to the mother site get complete access. Non-subscribers can view the free rotating posts. Described in NYTimes (password).

owillis — Sat, 20 Jul 2002 13:00:56 -0800

I'll Trade You A Harken for an ImClone. Corporate scandal trading cards, certainly not a limited edition.

fold_and_mutilate — Fri, 31 May 2002 10:37:28 -0800

"To compile The Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the 1990s, we used the most narrow and conservative of definitions -- corporations that have pled guilty or no contest to crimes and have been criminally fined." Just brimming with fascinating business lore, including "The FBI estimates that 19,000 Americans are murdered every year. Compare this to the 56,000 Americans who die every year on the job or from occupational diseases such as black lung and asbestosis and the tens of thousands of other Americans who fall victim to the silent violence of pollution, contaminated foods, hazardous consumer products...."

zedzebedia — Thu, 31 Jan 2002 07:47:08 -0800

Pass it along : GM buys Chumbawamba song for $70,000. Chumbawamba takes money and gives it to corporate watchdogs that use the money to fund anti-GM ads. All of which makes up for how annoying "Tubthumping" got after awhile.

patricking — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 12:46:29 -0800

eek! at+t broadband cable units to be bought by comcast. this means chicago cable service will shift to its third owner in two years (at+t broadband having purchased prime cable just last year, and having just gotten cable modems back online from the excite@home failure two weeks ago). anyone have any clues about the ramifications of this purchase?

caraig — Sun, 22 Apr 2001 19:08:37 -0800

So we think we're free? Bill Moyers tells us that we're in the grip of the mega-corporate media who know how to lavishly butter their own bread. And if we like jam? Too bad.

Brilliantcrank — Tue, 24 Oct 2000 18:55:31 -0800

Is the Revolution really over? According to Wired it is, “…one day, the digital revolution was over. The big media companies wrested control of the Internet from the kids in the horned-rimmed glasses.” Derek has his comments on this but to add my own, nothing new and exciting happens anymore.

The Internet has become synonymous for pink slips, mergers, and legal battles.

I know there was a previous link to this article but I was inspired by Derek to bring a different matter to the table.