Semper’s quarterly printing industry survey results.

Hi, Thanks to all of you who participated. Please find the results of the survey.

Q1 Survey Analysis – January 2009

Thank You again for your responses – this was the first time we posted on twitter and other Social Networks and the response was trebled.

Let us get right to it- WOW. Glad the fourth quarter is over, but the first could be just as interesting.

The highlights: 

Profitability seems to have increased again- clearly this indicates the cost cutting measures and the reduced costs of raw materials and fuel are helping.

The question regarding how you find employees was interesting. Notice that many more of you are using online resources like printworkers.com or Gain’s job bank than help wanted ads in newspapers. I wonder about the reasoning behind that fact, considering the parallel decision our clients must face between print and new media expenditures.

The hiring section – the Staying the same percentage is continually dropping, with laying off increasing but hiring actually started to show an increase. This would indicate that companies top lines are still being squeezed; they lay off but then find they are unable to meet demand when it comes in. So they have to rehire- A shameless plug but this is a classic temp staffing utilization situation.

Again, we suspect the GDP numbers to be released on Jan 30th 09 will have to be revised even in six weeks lower than even the shocking contraction they first indicated. We are glad to see many of you understood the severity of the situation and took the steps needed to reduce costs last quarter.  All the doom and gloom from Davos aside, we feel that the upturn will start sooner than later. The speed of its improvement is the question. It seems that most responded that business was stable  the last two weeks and expected things to stay the same for the quarter. Lets hope we start to see improvement top line wise shortly there after.

The number one concern of respondents was the economy and it’s impact on clients budgets followed by predatory competition for those budgets. The Fed calls that deflation. Let us all hope that trend and fear is fleeting.

We have enclosed the entire Survey results below, if you have questions or would like to see additional areas explored please let me know.

daver@semperllc.com

Survey Charts: CLICK HERE

Twitter Backgrounds

There are many Twitter clients out there that help you stream line your Twitter experiences. Yet at the expense of seeing the many wonderfully designed backgrounds people do. Here are a few cool ones that help give Twitter a better visual feel.

http://twitter.com/PrintWorkers

http://twitter.com/Semperllc

http://twitter.com/aGEEKspot

http://twitter.com/CustomTwit

http://twitter.com/eddiebreen

 

The richness the backgrounds add is well worth viewing Twitter using the actual Twitter site.

 

The two things I would like to see added in the near future.

 

1) Ability to add links within your background

2) The various Twitter apps allowing full view of backgrounds.

 

My $.02 Twitter view point

Personalized print content/news/editorials

Things that seem relevant and important to keep an eye out for or create.

 

First is the ability to print content that is relevant to you and unique to you. Personalized news and information delivered daily.  The ability to pick and choose interesting topics as well as selecting editors/content providers I am interested in hearing view points from.

 

The important question would be:

a)     Would I pay for this service?

b)    Why not just read it from a website?

 

I believe the answer to the both questions is YES. There are many points in a day where I just don’t want to or can’t whip out a laptop to read content. The ability to have paper in my laptop bag to read is very appealing and even more so when it is personalized content. Paying for this personalized information is worthwhile as it condenses my habitual reading into a single source.

 

Just my $.02

 

Brian

Who is John Galt?

The question “Who is John Galt?” — John Galt is a man disgusted that non-productive members of society use laws and guilt to leech from the value created by productive members of society, and furthermore even exalt the qualities of the leeches over the workers and inventors. He made a pledge that he would never live his life for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for him, and founded an enclave, separate from the rest of the country, where he and other productive members of society have fled.

The Key here is the prospective of what is NON productive – It is very important that you fairly way and view a given issue- There is a reason our Founding Fathers wanted each voter to be a person of means or with a stake in society (yes they messed up by on the race and gender issues I gather from my readings they felt the battle they faced was big enough). The point is that it is assumed if you have something at risk you will strive to make a wise choice.  Is Darwin’s view correct, Those that can change and be flexible will most likely survive? 

In a company it would seem since the roles are so specialized and each person becomes an expert on their own area that management with buy in from the whole team should make the calls about who is productive- BUT with the help of the team means that if a team mate is proven to not be contributing the group has a right to act in self defense depending on the severity of the situation.

Rand argues that independence and individual achievement enable society to survive and thrive, and should be embraced. But this requires a “rational“ moral code. She argues that, over time, coerced self-sacrifice causes any society to self-destruct.

The Rational MORAL code is a critical component in the entire argument- So given the facts, people can decide for themselves to sacrifice or not to the survival of the group and it’s goals – critical to this is accurate facts,  a just endeavor and belief in a fair response to situations.

Who is John Galt.