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The Business July 25th 2012, "The Regulars get Irregular" Edition

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The Business has much to celebrate! Change is in the air. In exciting but bittersweet news, the imminent departure of beloved Businessman Chris Garcia to the wilds of LA means that we have just a few more opportunities to see him do his Business while he’s still reppin the 415. Don’t miss this one! Chris Thayer is down there already, so it seems The Business will soon have the Los Angeles Chris market cornered! We also have some excellent guests joining us this week. We are happy to welcome thre e time Laugh Factory Fresh Faces winner Stroy Moyd to the show. Stroy’s energetic and eccentric brand of comedy has made him a favorite at comedy clubs and campuses across the nation. Within one year of arriving to Hollywood, Moyd has already produced two of Los Angeles' hottest comedy shows, the Laugh Bowl at the Laugh Factory and Young Funny Sundays at the Improv. The owner of the Laugh Factory, Jamie Masada, called Moyd "the next Redd Foxx". He is al...

The Business LA with GUY BRANUM and BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT!

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Oh Los Angeles. Ohhhhhh Los Angeles. It's been a while since the Business and Los Angeles got friendly, and SO MUCH has been going on. We need to talk all about it when we return to The Nerdist Theater at Meltdown on Friday August 3rd. And we're returning bigger and better than before. How we doin' that you ask? Check it out: Not just will all original members of the Business (Alex Koll, Sean Keane, Bucky Sinister and Chris Garcia) be on hand to get funny, but our two newest recruits will be with us: Caitlin Gill and Chris Thayer. It's time to show LA what out sold-out crowds in SF already know: These two are the BUSINESS! Real talk. What else? How about two amazing guests: Comedian/writer/actor/ notary public Guy Branum and comedian/writer/actor/ filmmaker/firestarter Bobcat Goldthwait! Plus, as always, the Medically Transported Burrito Raffle and more... Tickets are $10 at the door, but $8 online with NO SERVICE CHARGE! Get tickets here: ...

The Business July 18th 2012, “What Louv-ly Poseys” Edition

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 “Three goats are playing soccer. Christopher Hitchens, driving an armored car with a huge, blunt lance attached to the front, chases them off the field while chuckling eruditely to himself.” – This is one of guest Matt Louv’s dreams. Find more of his subconscious musing s at http:// bearswithcigars.blogspot.co m/ .  We are pleased to have Matt as a guest at the Business this week, along with the fabulous Brandie Posey. Brandie is “a real sweet heart. Probably from all the high fructose corn syrup”. She hit Los Angeles in 2007, quickly making a name for herself in the comedy scene through nerdy jokes about Renn Faires, sharks and an affinity for Abe Lincoln. She has been compared to Patton Oswalt, Matt Braunger & Janeane Garofalo in style and in eyewear. It is a pleasure to have her back. Also appearing, the natural force of good known as Dr. Foxmeat! They should name a tropical storm after him, but only a tropical storm that rains love and blows winds...

Digital journalism reaches sustainability, but transitional business problems interfere

The income streams of digital news providers continue to grow and many have now reached the point of sustainability. Fundamental financial and business problems, however, are keeping publishers from moving out of print and becoming digital-only operators. This leads many publishers and journalists to continue bemoaning the fact that digital media do not provide as much income as print and many still argue that organized, regular newsgathering and distribution cannot survive in a digital-only environment. They point to the fact that digital advertising produces only about 15 percent the income of print advertising—largely because it does not appeal to retail, display advertisers--and that paid circulation for digital products is growing slowly. Their analysis is flawed, however, because publishers do not require as much revenue online as offline because the costs of digital operation are so different. Editorial operations account for only about 10-15 percent of total costs of opera...

The Business July 11th, 2012, "Rick's Wish Is Our Command" Edition

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You know that song where Rick Springfield sings, "You know I wish that I had Jesses, girl"? Well his wish was granted, kinda...cause this week THE BUSINESS GOT THE JESSES, GIIIIIIIRL! There's no "i" Jesse, but we've got II: Jesse Elias--2011 Twisted Biscuit winner and al umnus of both SF Sketchfest and Bridgetown Comedy Festival--returns to the business with his bashful exhibition of mental-doodles created in the absence of social interaction. http:// jesseeliasstuff.com/ Twitter: @JesseNElias Jesse Hett has performed at the San Jose Improv and the Rooster T. Feathers comedy club. He likes to say comedy, pet animals, build machines and take naps. http:// jessehett.tumblr.com/ Twitter: @JesseTheHett If the Dark Room is a kind of bottle, then this week's regular Business-genies are Caitlin Gill, Bucky Sinister, Chris Thayer, & Sean Keane. Come and rub us the right way! 8PM/B.Y.O.Burrito @ The Dark Room 2263 Mission St. (b/w 18th...

The Business July 4th 2012, "BORN ON THE FOURTH OF INDEPENDENCE DAY" Edition

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God loves America so much, for our birthday He gave us a Friday right in the middle of the week!!! The Business is planning to truly celebrate our Constitutional right to fuck off from work until the Communists bring us another Monday. We are gonna let the eagle soar l ike she’s never soared before with some very special guests and few very noisy, dangerous firecrackers obtained at a roadside shack from a man with a balding mullet carefully arranged in tiny braids. AMERICA. Our guest Mike Drucker could easily portray someone defending our nation on TV. In some fatigues, he would really bring the role of Exploding Soldier #3 to life. He lets SNL, The Onion and IGN use his scraps, but he saves his A game for The Business. Lyall Behrens brings to this Independence Day the bold prowess of Will Smith AND the Jeff Goldblum brains. He’s the co-producer of the most excellent SF Comedy Cellar showcases here in San Francisco, CA, 94102, AMERICA. Eric Cash is a stand u...

Cable firms and Facebook Continue to Disappoint their Customers

Serving and satisfying customers is a crucial part of  value creation in any business,but U.S. communication firms continue to struggle with the very basics and are being heavily criticized for poor service, price gouging, billing problems, and generally poor customer relations. 40 percent of the top 15 companies that most dissatisfy customers are communications firms, according to the latest data from the American Consumer Satisfaction Index. The companies American most dislike include Facebook and cable systems, which operate as near monopolies and consumerss have no real competitors to turn to for better service. The scores for the companies are: Direct TV: 68/100 Facebook: 66/100 Comcast: 61/100 Time Warner: 63/100 Cox Communications: 63/100 Charter Communications: 59/100 These are failing scores on any grading system. The companies have little incentive to spend time and money to improve service and relations with customers b ecause there is no real competition that can discip...