NSA Blog Review 2: Bill Conerly – Businomics Blog

Somewhat predictably, I’ve decided to move on to the second blog listed on my NSA Blogroll. Bill Conerly’s Businomics Blog

Good

Blogging since: January, 2006
Posting Frequency: 2-3 times weekly
Post Length: 200-300 words average
Aesthetic Appeal: Standard template. Data graphs mix a variety of styles. Baby blue surround.
Graphics: Bar and Line graphs that supplement the text. Click for larger image.
Categories: Books, Business Strategy, Economic News, Investments, Public Policy
Blogroll: 14 economics blogs
Target Audience: Business strategists in large and medium sized companies
Comments allowed: Yes
Trackbacks: Yes
Alexa.com traffic ranking: N/A
Sites that link to this blog: N/A
Yahoo Links: 88

Review:

Dr. Bill Conerly is a heavyweight academic and highly qualified economic advisor. He’s new to blogging this year, and he’s off to a racing start.

He runs a consulting practice, helping business leaders make more profitable decisions through a better understanding of the economy. He’s co-author of Thinking Economics, a high school textbook in multimedia format used in 24 states. His new book, Businomics, will be published in 2007 by Adams Media. His articles are required reading in graduate courses at MIT and Wharton.

This is a blog that promises the reader Better Decisions Through A Better Understanding of the Economy. Read his posts for the skinny on topics such as consumer confidence, employment trends, interest rates, housing and producer pricing. These are meat and potatoes topics for all economists. What’s different are the ‘Business Strategy Implications’ that Bill often concludes each posting with. Example:

Housing supply chain should REALLY hunker down now. Sellers of interest sensitive big-ticket items (like car dealers) should BEGIN to hunker down. The rest of the business community should start thinking about contingency plans for a recession or economic slowdown.

Bill’s blog is also a good place to look for references to books, articles and studies in the area of economics.

On the technical front Bill has had some trouble with lost archives. He might want to use a redirect to mask his generic Typepad URL. He should also incorporate Technorati tags to increase his visibility to search engines.

Reading this blog reminds me of the quote attributed to Lyndon Johnson:

Did you ever think that making a speech on economics is a lot like pissing down your leg? It seems hot to you, but it never does to anyone else.

Bill is no Jim Cramer and I did not see any “Buy Gold!!!” or “Sell Wal-Mart!!!” recommendations, which is a good thing. At the same time, it would be nice to see a little more juice in his posts. Rather than adopting a textbook tone, Bill could lighten things up with insights on our quotidian experience from the perspective of an economist.

Example: In addition to the overall advice on the effect of a housing price drop (above) he could follow-up with comments on markets like the San Francisco Bay Area contrasted with the rural Dakotas – what strategic differences might affect those of us who live there? How do the strategic shifts affect the young, middle aged and older homeowner? How about the business strategy for Realtors or those who service them in these two areas? And if I have a variable interest rate and a daughter going to an Ivy League in the Fall is it time to move to a rental unit?

I’d also like to read about Bill’s experiences as an economist who is also a speaker – what reception do his audiences give him? What content and delivery techniques does he employ to keep their attention and disprove President Johnson’s claim?

This is a blog for those who don’t want to get their economic strategy from the Booyah Bullhorn on Mad Money. Check it out.

2 Comments so far
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We’ve Been Reviewed

Ian Griffin, the corporate communications specialist, reviews the Businomics blog on his blog. After checking out his site, hit the link to his main web page, Executive Communications. (I was about to add If your company needs help with its

Thanks Bill, I appreciate the link!

Ian



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