Tesar-Reynes

News came last week that Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) plans to cut 650 jobs over the next six months. Thoughts went out to my former coworkers at BCBS, where I did my first internship as a Web content editor. Even then, the health insurer had instituted a hiring freeze in their IT department, causing my summer internship to be extended 8 months but without the possibility of a position.

Did you know BCBS is actually considered a non-profit? Not in the traditional sense, of course, but they do enjoy some non-profit benefits because they are required by federal law to keep administrative costs below 12.5%. That means with all the hefty premiums they collect, summing up to billions, less than 12.5% can be devoted to expenses like payroll and …

Everything I have read talks about the change in the buyer behavior of this country. That our savings rates are back up and that spending is way down. I have tended to believe this until I heard an ad the other night for buying foreclosed real estate.

The ad intimated that whatever your credit, they could get you into the house of your dreams. Note to self: re-check the DVR, were you watching a new episode of CSI or was it one from early last year?

I came across this Yahoo article How to Protect Your Online Reputation this morning. Forbes writer Amanda Berlin details some nice tips on keeping track of your personal brand on the Web. With all the social networking going on, do you know what image you’re projecting?

Here’s a list of tips she recommends:

1. Google your name
2. Register your name as a domain and with social networks
3. Create a Google Alert for yourself

Searching for yourself is self-explanatory, but make sure to do an image search too. I’m pretty lucky to have a unique name like …

I have tuned out the whole debate. It is a waste of time. As a small business owner, I am acutely aware of the need for reform. BCBS graciously increased our rates by 57% this year. Our insurance guys shopped out our needs to other carriers to no avail. Nobody needs to tell me that a company with less than 10 people is like a fish in a barrel for any insurance company. It is painful and unfair.

I have turned off the debate because it is all hot air and political posturing right now. The media is not telling me news, it is telling me moves in the debate. And, in turn, most parts of the plan have not even reached the mark-up stage. …