Why is cost the #1 focus?  There was a time when quality was worth a few cents more.  Isn't paying a little more for something that lasts twice as long worth it?

And what about the fight between form and function.  Remember when a coffee pot may not have looked so great but it didn't wind up all over your kitchen counter.  Isn't all the coffee winding up in the cup more important than a new design?

It might be beneficial to look at how we've gotten into this extreme cost and form conscious mode and take a few steps back.  I was recently talking to a CFO of a large manufacturer and the ONLY point he wanted to talk about was cost.  Not something better, more innovative or superior in any way, shape or form.  Something cheaper that looks cool will sell ! What's happened to our country?

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Back in the day, I remember Mr. Nadar being an advocate for the consumer. 

When did he become an advocate for himself?

As we all vividly recall in the infamous 2000 election, Nadar garnered enough votes to keep Al Gore out of the White House.  Just think of the difference the past 7 years would have been.

Subsequent to Mr. Nadar's actions, the focus for our "security" was directed over seas, where 100's of billions of dollars have been spent.

To pay for this, almost every other program in the government has been slashed including inspectors for our food and public safety.  The result is that our citizens are more endangered from our food supply and dangerous products than a terrorist attack. 

Why would Nadar risk another opportunity to further entrench those who prefer to support

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Calling all bloggers, social media gurus, developers and online media experts!

Do you thrive in creativite, team—focused environments? Do you have a ferocious appetite for solving complex problems? Do you like to plunge your face into cake? If so, you may be able to help us bring unique products to the interactive community. Our team is comprised of passionate, wicked smart people that work their butts off and have a blast doing so. IZEA is positively impacting the lives of others and we’re developing technologies and applications that promise to do even more in the future.

IZEA, Inc. (www.izea.com) is a rapidly growing venture-backed Internet advertising marketplace. We hire big thinkers that help make dreams a reality. The company environment is very collaborative and cooperative overall....More

If you've ever had questions or would like to comment about IZEA, now's your chance.

IZEA, Inc. Founder & CEO Ted Murphy is hosting a town hall meeting this Wednesday night (1/23) at 9pm EST. He will be online in a chat room to answer any questions you might have about the company, PayPerPost, blogging, or social media marketing. Spots are limited to the first 75 people so if you're interested make sure and be one of the first.

The url to the Town Hall will be posted on the IZEA Blog at 8pm EST, tomorrow (Wednesday). To read more, visit community.izea.com/blog/2008/01/izea-online-com.html.

If you're utilizing RealRank to measure traffic to your blog and want to display your metrics, there's a badge now available.  To find out more click here, or visit the following link:  http://community.izea.com/blog/2008/01/the-official-re.html.

If you weren't able to attend PostieCon in Las Vegas a couple of months ago, we've just updated the event site.  Video of all the sessions is now available for viewing, including the highly-anticipated unveiling of SocialSpark (i.e., "Argus).

To check-out the videos and sign-up for PostieCon 2008 updates simply visit PostieCon.com.

IZEARanks.com is now LIVE! RealRank is the heart of IZEARanks, and it's the very first site-ranking service to measure the traffic and influence of individual blogs throughout the blogosphere.

Learn more about it and sign-up by visiting http://community.izea.com/blog/2008/01/izearankscom-al.html.

Here's your chance to be a part of something awesome: SocialSpark. What is Social Spark? It's a yet-to-be-launched social networking site that is going to rattle the online world! The site hasn't even launched yet but we want bloggers to be as involved as possible. How? Well, IZEA is accepting videos to be considered for viewing in the upcoming "Community" area of SocialSpark. This "Community" page will host videos that will provide site visitors with a better understanding of the people fueling the growth of the blogosphere.

This is a perfect opportunity for you to get some greater exposure for your blog. Things like showing large, potential advertisers how they'd benefit from working with you. Sky's the limit. Remember, though, you really must have a blog to benefit from SocialSpark.

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If you are not yet completely familiar with PayPerPost, or how it can benefit your business and your customers or clients, here's a great overview of how the marketplace can be utilized. Included is a case study from one of the previous Advertisers:

If you're a blogger there's a great chance for you to get involved with something really special! IZEA has joined forces with BlogCatalog to have members of the blogosphere ''unite,'' doing something nice for someone and then sharing it via a post on their blog. Bloggers will then drop the link to the post over at the BlogCatalog discussions. We'd also like readers of our company blog to share in all the good deeds, so if you decide to participate in ''Bloggers Unite'' leave the post link in the comments of the following blog post:

http://community.izea.com/blog/2007/12/bloggers-unit-1.html