E-Commerce Blog

Forget the oil crisis, the dollar swoon or the housing bust. The biggest worry for many in the technology and investment community is the health of Apple’s iconic founder and chief executive Steve Jobs. The 53-year-old legend underwent successful surgery for pancreatic cancer about four years ago, and rumors of a relapse started swirling last month when he looked gaunt, pale and far from his usual exuberant self when introducing the new iPhone in San Francisco. But a report Wednesday appeared to calm those fears, saying that “rumors of Steven P. Jobs’ health have been greatly exaggerated.”

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Report: Steve Jobs’ Health Issues Overblown

The towering role of Steve Jobs at Apple was underscored this week when concerns about his health contributed to a sudden plunge in the company’s stock. Apple shares recovered significantly on Tuesday, but Wall Street’s worries spotlight the enormous importance of Jobs to Apple and spur questions about the company’s responsibility to address the recurring rumors regarding his health. For weeks, analysts and investors have been jittery about why the Apple chief executive appeared gaunt at the company’s annual developers’ conference in June.

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Conjecture About Jobs’ Health Weighs Down Apple Stock

IBM’s earnings, used to gauge the health of global technology spending, were a bright spot in an otherwise dreary economic landscape. The Armonk, N.Y.-based company reported Thursday that its profit leaped 22 percent in the second quarter, sailing past Wall Street estimates on the continued strength of its bread-and-butter services division. However, continued worries about the health of the broader market tamped down IBM’s shares, stunting an expected rally in the stock.

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IBM Blows Away Q2 Expectations With 22 Percent Profit Growth

The launch of Healthline Networks’ HealthSTAT last week is one more indication that the Internet ad platform wars are far from over. To be sure, Google remains the giant to beat — and it looks as though it’s settling into its role as the long-term dominant player. However, HealthSTAT may be on the vanguard in the next significant skirmish within this multibillion dollar industry: the vertical front. HealthSTAT is a contextual, ad-matching engine that allows advertisers to post ads next to articles that are relevant to their products.

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Homing In on the Healthcare Consumer’s Needs

Wherever your Web site ranks on your list of things to work on, move it up to the top. It’s that critical. Your Web site isn’t “about” your company, it’s an extension of your company. If it’s unprofessional, you’re unprofessional. If it’s cluttered, you’re cluttered. If it’s hard to work with, you’re hard to work with. By contrast, if it’s well put together, smart and easy to use, so is your company. At least that’s what people will perceive. Most small business Web sites don’t do their companies justice.

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Make Your Web Site Work for You