Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with industry

How much money does the gossip magazine / gossip blog / tabloid industry make?

Elle Vator — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:23:45 -0800

So, celebrity gossip is everywhere and lots of $$$ is forked out for images of famous babies, etcetera... BUT how much money does the gossip industry MAKE? I can't find any online statistics about Gossip Industry Revenues. It's actually very odd and mysterious.

I'm looking for numbers on gossip magazines, gossip blogs and/or the tabloid industry, with the goal of comparing the Gossip numbers to the Porn Industry and the Television Industry respectively. I could use global numbers, US or North American numbers.

It would be useful to find a webpage as comprehensive as this: http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html

...but I would take a single, high impact sentence about the tabloids and gossip rags (such as this gem: "US Porn Revenues are greater than the combined revenues of ABC, CBS and NBC"), which was properly cited and verifiable.

Anyone got anything?

How do academia and industry collaborate?

gadha — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:31:21 -0800

I'm looking for non-traditional collaboration models between academia and industry (any field) or between companies/consortiums. Any pointers? As a personal project I'm trying to map out how academia and industry collaborate. It seems to me the de facto model is one in which academia either works on specific projects for industry (with IPR rights agreed on beforehand) or academics spin out a company. However, I'm interested in other, non-linear examples of different modes of collaboration. Examples or pointers both welcome.

Re-enter PhD program after many years -- recommendations?

lakshmi_mefi — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:31:39 -0800

Applying to enter a math PhD program after working in industry. Question about recommendations. I am thinking of applying to re-enter a math PhD program, maybe in applied math.

My brief background: a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from U. of Toledo and another in Math from Auburn U. 16 years ago. Was briefly in the math PhD program at Purdue immediately afterward, but regrettably left it after 2 years - I squandered it.

Forward to now. I plan to take my GRE general soon and the math test in April.

I am stuck with getting recommendations however. Being a web developer, my current work is not too relevant to math, but still I can ask my boss for references. For another reference I could try asking my former boss from the previous company I worked for, but I can't think of whom to ask for a 3rd letter.

Any suggestions for what I can do for references? Do I have a chance of being accepted with 2 letters attesting to my web development skills? My GPAs from the MS degrees: 3.4 and 3.7, and I scored full on the math GRE in '93, and I was a good student at Auburn and considered potential for a PhD.

Thanks.

Seeking clicking mechanism or design...

pallen123 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:21:02 -0800

What kind of small toys or devices click when you rotate them forwards and backwards? Seeking mechanism or design... I’m trying to help a friend design a small toy and she needs a mechanism that will click in very small increments as she rotates a small (1 inch diameter) dial that turns 360 degrees on its axis. She needs the dial to click precisely as it turns clockwise and counterclockwise in smallish increments. I was thinking a fishing reel mechanism might work, but that just allows turning in one direction. Then I thought a ratchet wrench mechanism might work, but that also turns in just one direction (and I’m not sure how the inside of a ratchet wrench works either). Can anyone think of existing toys or devices that have a clicking mechanism that freely rotate? Novel solutions? Suggestions? Thank you!

Some say I have a way with words.

the NATURAL — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:16:31 -0800

You are a paid writer/screenwriter/columnist/blogger. What can you tell me about how to best break into this profession? Now, obviously, talent matters, and whether or not I have any of that good stuff remains to be seen. But are there tips/secrets that you could offer to an aspiring writer as they look to break in to this realm?

For what it's worth, I'm 9 months removed from my B.A., and looking at going back next fall for my M.A. (probably in English, either Lit or Creative Writing) and looking to start freelancing for a local lifestyle magazine. I keep a blog, mostly for my own amusement (clipping entertaining passages from my reading).

Are meat and leather production correlated?

dkg — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:29:02 -0800

What proportion of leather comes from animals whose other parts are ultimately consumed by humans for food? What proportion of leather-bearing food animals' skins are ultimately made into leather? How would i find out? I'd like to know how well-correlated meat and leather production are: are there leather-bearing animals whose bodies are discarded as scrap even though they could be eaten? or food-bearing animals whose skins are discarded as scrap even though they could be fashioned into clothing?

Do we (in the USA? in the world?) consume more animals for their meat or for their skins? If it's not evenly balanced, what happens to the unbalanced bits?

or am i wrong in assuming that all leather-bearing animals have flesh that could potentially be eaten for food? I'm fine with ignoring non-leather-bearing food animals for the purposes of this question.

How would i begin finding hard data on this? Comments and criticism to help me think about the question more clearly would be welcome too.

Where do the insiders hang out?

Diddly — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:08:00 -0800

Do you know of any industry specific public online forums where insiders discuss common problems or share helpful tips? I find it facinating to learn about the daily lives of people - what they worry about, how they deal with issues, and stories from the trench. Instead of mindlessly driving through the automatic carwash a few minutes every month, you start to get an appreciation for the work that went into selecting the right detergent, how to capture the waste water, and how often people drive through with bikes on the rack.

Example sites that I've come across:
Residential/commercial construction
Self-Storage
Car wash/Quick lube

I know they're probably too busy for side projects anyway, but...

ignignokt — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:44:20 -0800

Do video game industry non-compete agreements typically prevent their employees from working on and releasing small games in their own time? I'm thinking of all employees, including developers, testers, designers, managers, and artists.

there are no real jobs on craigslist!

gonna get a dog — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:17:18 -0800

I'm a full-time film editor and occasional composer in Vancouver, about to move to Toronto. My main work has been TV movies and short films. Because I don't have a job lined up there, I'll need to network. I also enjoy collaborating, and would love to make some new acquaintances -- I don't know many people in TO. Can anyone think of resources, groups, or organizations in Toronto that might help me achieve these goals? Long time reader (8 years), first time poster. I'm late 20s and male, if that's relevant.

Do I need the PhD to work in industry?

alligatorman — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:42:47 -0800

I want a PhD in Mathematics, but I do not want to stay in academia. Is it worth it? I would like to go into industry immediately after getting my PhD.

My question is: Is it worth it? Will having a PhD give me opportunities that I can never have otherwise?

My interests are in discrete mathematics: combinatorics, graph theory, algorithms, etc. I've been told by someone who works in the computer tech industry that he knows of a lot of companies that hire mathematicians for work in algorithms, optimization and other things that I wouldn't mind doing.

Would I be wasting my time going for a PhD? Could I ultimately be doing work that a PhD does with just a Masters (ideally funded by the company) and some experience? If so, would I even be able to land a position with such prospects with just a Bachelors degree and no related work experience?

I want to continue to do mathematics that I find interesting, but I don't want to go through what's necessary to become a tenured professor.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Blue Collar vs No Collar

cinemafiend — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:01:47 -0800

Are there more car salespeople than automobile manufacturing people in the United States? With the move to a "service industry based economy" in America and GM's bankruptcy declaration today - I was struck with the question of the number of middlemen in the American auto industry compared to the number of manufacturing jobs.

Any tips or suggestions on where to look for this kind of information would be helpful. I assume the commerce department keeps figures on this sort of thing - but this might not even be the right question to ask...

retail or wholesale?

abirae — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:36:11 -0800

How does American Apparel make money? A friend and I have a disagreement over this that basically breaks down to: retail or wholesale? As I understand it, they started out as t-shirt wholesalers and expanded into a retail empire. But where do they make the bulk of their revenue?

They charge much higher prices for their retail clothes than for their wholesale t-shirts, but maintaining storefronts must also be a costly undertaking. The higher overhead might cancel out the higher prices. They clearly have the money for major ad campaigns and numerous store fronts so they must be making money somehow, but I don't know how to find this information.

Of course, it's also possible that they aren't making money, or that one part of their business subsidizes other parts of the business. I know very little about garment manufacturing and retail, so I'm hoping that someone with a knowledge of the biz can clue me in.

New industrial architecture

lou — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:28:49 -0800

Looking for examples of creative, modern industrial architecture. When I think industrial buildings, I (and probably most people) imagine gigantic bland boxes, tens or hundreds of thousands square feet large surrounded by parking lots. But it doesn't always have to be that way, right? Zaha Hadid's BMW Central Building in Leipzig comes to mind, but even then, it's just a small piece in a collection of otherwise typical box warehouses.

What else is out there? I'd really like to see:
- Green - I'm thinking along the lines of LEED certification, or some kind of production in green materials.
- Industrial - light or heavy. Blue collar work environments. Nothing that's primarily office space.
- Mixed-use? If you can mix office, retail and residences, is it possible to mix industrial? Perhaps smaller industrial spaces? Does this even exist?
- On a similar vein, high-density is a bonus.
- The exterior environment is really important- It's not just the architecture that should be compelling but also the landscaping.

Alright, now please educate me!

Which industries are corrupt?

roxegirl — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:17:39 -0800

With the current financial crisis highlighting corruption within the banking and auto industries, I'm starting to wonder about other industries that might be a little below the radar. What industries are generally corrupt? The chemical industry?
pharmaceuticals?

Here's how my mac widget dictionary defines corrupt: having or showing a willingness to acct dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.

How to crack into the nonprofit sector?

cranberrymonger — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:47:26 -0800

How to crack into the nonprofit sector? I graduated with a BA in Psych/Soc in 2007 and am now taking classes to complete a certificate in Nonprofit and Voluntary Management. Since graduating, I have been working full-time at a financial company in Toronto, Canada but would prefer to find a job elsewhere.

I have years of volunteer experience (various front-line work at at nursing home, homeless shelter, writing for a social advocacy website). I currently volunteer at two women's centres but have never worked full-time for a nonprofit.

I know the "nonprofit" sector is incredibly varied and I'm not entirely sure what area I'm interested in... but I think it would relate to research, social justice, women's issues or other social services. I have no interest in being a social worker but would rather perform some "behind the scenes" functions.

Hive mind, tell me how to accomplish this! What is the best way to get work at a nonprofit with only a year of unrelated work experience? How did you get started? What are your tips? If you recruit for a nonprofit, what skills qualities do you look for?

A career counsellor suggested I apply for grant writing... how does one get selected for such a job without experience?

What are the most promising industries for a software engineer?

[user was fined for this post] — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:07:18 -0800

CareerFilter: I will be finishing my BS in Computer Science in 2-3 years. What industries will likely offer the best earnings potential and interesting work to a software engineer, and how do I improve my attractiveness as a potential hire to those industries? My question is similar to this one, but I'm specifically interested in identifying industries that are desirable to software engineers in terms of pay, growth potential, and challenging work. I don't have a fixed definition of "interesting," but at a minimum it would mean solving problems more complicated than connecting web forms to databases. (I find games programming interesting as a hobby, but as a career I can't reconcile the long hours and the low pay.)

1) What industries should I consider? At this point I'm open to pretty much anything: finance, defense, health care, anything else I may not have considered.

2) For a given industry, what minor and/or electives should I consider to be a strong candidate? Statistics, economics, systems design, information security, Standard Chinese, _________? If it's not premature, what should I be thinking about in terms of my Master's?

3) Possible complication: I would like to spend a few years working in East Asia, most likely China or Japan. I would be willing to accept reduced earnings for a few years as a fair trade-off for this type of opportunity, as long as I would be gaining relevant experience that would make me a strong candidate for higher-paying positions when I return to the states. What would be the best way to prepare for this, and how would this affect answers to the above questions?

Some possibly relevant details: I'm 29 and going back to school after several years away. I have a junior degree in liberal arts (oops). I've done programming as a hobby most of my life, but I work in an unrelated field. I am willing to work long hours as long as I'm well compensated for it (exception for opportunities in East Asia, as noted). I do well in high-stress environments but don't need pressure to feel satisfied as long as I find my work interesting. I'm willing to relocate to pretty much anywhere but will not be able to do so for about three years (hopefully by the time I graduate). I have some experience in corporate training and technical writing but have no formal education in those areas.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice!

Leaving Academia after my Phd in Astrophysics

gradstu1980 — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:38:01 -0800

Wanting to leave academia after astrophysics PhD (oscillations in atmospheres of rotating starts, planets and discs). Need some feedback, tags, hints, keywords, that I should search in google and some suggestions of where my skills (look in the extended explanation) would be appreciated. After searching the net, there are some jobs I can apply to but given my lack of experience in the industry I'm afraid I won't be able to get any job in few months (before starting to die of hunger).

So I'm gonna mention some of my skills and I would like just few words, hints, whatever, I can type on google and I can see if I may be good doing that in the industry, R&D, IT, NGOs, government, hospitals, you name it.

1.- You give me a differential equation (PDE) and I solve it numerically either using spectral methods (expanding the solution in set of polynomials), or finite differences.

2.- I Program in Fortran (i know, it is obsolete in the industry but my research group used to work on it), C (I used it during my undergrad and before my qualifying exam for everything I needed), perl, mathematica. I guess I am very confident about making any algorithm, so moving towards other program languages could be easy if needed and if employers give me a week or so to study on my own any other.

3.- Used computer clusters; I did basic proccesor2processor communication algorithms, I mainly used the clusters to use lots of processors at the same time thou,without letting them know each other.

4.- As any PhD graduate (I'm being humble :) )from the physical sciences I have strong analytic skills, very strong. I didn't work with statistics, but I can get into them in no time, I understand all the basics, and since I'm good with calculus and algebra and interpretation I think I can get into any statistician job.

5.- Following 4, I can give talks, and work in groups and by mylself.

6.- I know the very basic IT knowledge (although I always had problems remembering the technical terminology), like Linux, Windows (Office, webpage making, excel, etc), latex, hardware, and I can create nice 3d animations using different software.

7.- 3 publications in astrophysics (theory), + thesis, so I guess I can write.

8.- Bilingual (Spanish, English).

Well, that's pretty much it.

I would also want to know if I should apply to entry-level jobs to gain some experience and not to suffer the big crush of the transition. But I'm quite convinced that some of the techniques I was using may be appreciated in the R&D sector, like computational fluid dynamics (aerospace and car industries).

I am really sure to leave Academia, there is no go back, although my research turns out to be a very good contribution for science, I don't have the strength to keep pushing and relocate for a badly payed postdoc, that maybe be working as hard as anyone in the industry. I've been living in poverty since I left high-school and I'm tired of it (I'm 28). I don't feel like I need to be doing science to be happy, just I need to use my brain and I will be happy in any work (that pays reasonably well, but I am not as greedy in order to go to wallsteet and get crazy making money with no life).

And I am very flexible to go everywhere in the world for a job (I am currently in Canada).

So guys, please, where do I start searching.

Thank you very much.

p.d.: I am not willing to get more education (I did educate myself in many areas, my supervisor and colleagues helped very little, so I guess I gain too much confidence in my own learning skills), so no MBA, law or MScs for me, I need to do stuff. After my PhD, degrees means nothing to me (and I guess for employers they mean nothing too), I did it cause I used to love science, but as many others, I got burned, and I got pragmatic with time.

Quality goods made by real people

dance — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 08:36:19 -0800

Talented people making high quality goods (belts, wooden objects, pens, misc leather items , clothes, manuscript books, etc) at reasonable prices. A recent askme thread whetted my appetite for lovingly crafted objects created by real people who have a talent and a passion for their work, and are maybe selling on eBay...or via a personal website.
These things are perhaps made simply but effectively, or in a traditional way - and the seller's aim is usually not massive profit but just to see their quality goods used by happy customers.

Or maybe people who refurbish antiques, get them working again and sell them on?

A real world example is a man called David Naish who sells his high quality leather wallets, belts, pouches etc from a bridge in Jesmond Dene, Newcastle, England for very small amounts of money.

Real-life tech-tree

Anything — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:54:12 -0800

"In order to feasibly produce, say, transparent adhesive tape, integrated circuits or sugar-free soft drinks, you need such-and-such materials and such-and-such equipment, which in turn depend on other things, all the way down to ores and fuel and such. So if you want to build your very own set of night vision goggles from scratch, here's everything you need access to in order to get started" Has anyone compiled, for the public to see, anything resembling a real-life 'tech-tree', akin to what's found in computer games such as Civilization? Such a database would help us see our everyday objects not just as things you can use, but as products of our society, and would greatly aid me in my secret plan for world domination.

Much of this kind of information is already compiled to such places as Wikipedia, and books such as David Gingery's series on how to build a complete metalworking shop from scrap, not to mention libraries full of industry and engineering textbooks, but nowhere have I seen it in a format that lays out technological and material dependencies explicitly for neat searching.

Medical Device Industry Primer?

nancoix — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:41:03 -0800

I'm about to begin work at a medical device company (as a paralegal) and would like an introductory book on the subject. I've scoured Amazon, but haven't found anything that's a general overview, with chapters on history, business climate, FDA and regulatory issues, litigation -- just a smattering of everything, with perhaps emphasis on legal / regulatory. Most books are more specialized. Or are there websites or white papers along these lines? Recommendations, please!

How did pre-industrial leather tanning work?

CKmtl — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:08:09 -0800

AskMe Reference Desk: Pre-industrial production and trade of leather and leather goods - how did it work? I'm trying to collect as much information as possible on the workings of tanneries, and the associated trade in leather goods, prior to the industrialization (i.e., dedicated machinery, easy access to bulk purified chemicals, etc.) of the process.

So far, I've tracked down one book that looks promising (English Medieval Industries: Craftsmen, Techniques, Products by John Blair & Nigel Ramsay) and that I'll be checking out tomorrow, but I'd appreciate any further recommendations. Online resources would be extra handy.

A couple of the specific points that I'm stuck on:

- How broadly applicable was the tanner's knowledge? Would someone who was 'specialized' in tanning, say, cow hide know how to tan deer skins? Boar? Reptiles? Fish? Emu? And so on...

- Pit-tanning apparently took upwards of a year. If there was a somewhat continuous supply of incoming raw hides, and a somewhat continuous demand for outgoing tanned hides, how would a pit tannery reconcile the two? Wouldn't today's (~1 year old) tanned hide be stuck at a the bottom of the pit, covered by the rest of the year's unfinished hides?

nashville music industry

locoindio — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:31:11 -0800

how does a newcomer break into the nashville music industry? and how long does it usually take a newbie songwriter to be taken seriously?

Who came up with this joke?

Kevin A — Fri, 16 May 2008 08:55:21 -0800

People often say: "The best way to make a small fortune in [insert industry here] is to start with a large one" Who first came up with this joke, and what industry was the joke originally about?

How do they get them on the B*ngBus?

penciltopper — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:05:19 -0800

What do pornographers know that we don't? Namely, how to convince people to have sex on camera for not much money? I'm not talking about big name stars working for the major studios - I consider that the porn version of making it big in the music industry. What I'm curious about is the bar band or even open mic level equivalent. There's a lot of "amateur" / "reality" porn out there, of the casting couch/sex-in-a-van/what if I gave you $500 and your boyfriend could watch variety. I assume that the deal is not actually happening as it plays out on camera and that these aren't really amateurs (?for the most part?); but there also can't be much money changing hands at that level.

So how do the producers get the actors on camera for the minimum amount over the "tipping point", and how would I find out how much money that generally is? No, I am not going to go out and get a van and a camera - I'm just interested in how many people are nekkid and doin' the nasty on the internet, and how that comes to pass. Ask most people how much it would take to put them in porn, and they'd give you something in the high seven figures; I have a feeling there's a lot of people in internet porn who got something in the low four figures, and I'm wondering how that comes to pass.

The tamer version might be the GirlsGoneWild question: "OK, I understand flashing one's stuff - but what does it take to get someone to sign the release form?" There's alcohol and impaired judgement in that case, but the idea is roughly the same.

The Economics of Financial Domination

divabat — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:18:21 -0800

How do financial dominatrices make their money? A comment on AskMefi some time ago talked about financial dominatrices, and I've been fascinated by their business ever since. From what I could gather, all they have to do is put up a website saying "You worship me! Give me money and stuff because I know you want to!" - and it works. One site had her Internet bills paid off. Many ask for regular tithes and offerings, and have application processes.

How does this work? From what I could tell, the buyers don't actually get anything back for their cash - it's up to the dominatrix if she wants to give them something or not. (Usually they don't bother.) It's not like she's selling pictures or anything (though I did see one with videos) - it pretty much seems like they're paying money because it gets them off.

How does one get established in the financial dominatrix business? Is there some sort of Financial Dominatrix Directory where they get listed and people just scroll through to see who they like? How do they get attention, and how do they get people to pay? Are there any male dominators, or any women that would pay for such "services"? How would you keep your identity secret to collect cash (and avoid a situation like this mess - link NSFW)?

If you would like to comment anonymously, send me an email at dominatrix.economics@gmail.com.