Some good news released this month from The Conference Board…

CEO Confidence Improves, The Conference Board Reports Oct. 9, 2009

The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence, which had increased in the second quarter of 2009, increased further in the third quarter. The Measure now stands at 63, up from 55 in the previous quarter (a reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses). This is the third consecutive increase. The survey includes about 100 business leaders in a wide range of industries.

“CEOs have grown considerably more optimistic in their short-term outlook,” says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “Although nearly 60 percent say they’ve scaled back capital spending plans since January, growing optimism over the past several quarters should translate into increased spending in 2010.”  Full Story

• Yes. China and India are already making rapid strides
  By Iqbal Z. Quadir
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  Asia is using technology to build new models for delivering goods and services to its vast low-income populations. Many of those models will lead to powerful innovations for global markets.

Great Article Debating both sides of the media battle!    Read Full Article

• No, it’s too easy to obtain free content elsewhere on the Web.
  By Clay Shirky
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  A digital universe means readers have plenty of sources to choose from. Publishers considering pay walls have to weigh the costs of losing readers with the benefits of gaining subscription revenues.

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• Yes, some consumers will pay for some content.
  By Steven Brill
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  Publishers don’t need to make a choice between advertising and circulation revenue. By charging only certain kinds of readers or for certain kinds of content, they can still maintain a big, non-paying audience capable of generating ad revenues.

“Any company with a product used by thousands already has a community. The key questions for the company that created that product are: Will we participate in the ongoing conversations in an effort to guide or influence them or pretend they’re not happening? Does it make sense to accelerate communication so that people find each other, collaborate and help one another? Does it make sense to open company boundaries so that more people inside can access knowledge outside and vice versa? Of course it does. With so many success stories, creating communities and aggressively using social media is becoming mainstream. This is bringing a wave of newcomers who might benefit from things we’ve learned over the years.”  Read Full Article