Some welcome news from the folks behind WRDS, our interface for many financial/accounting datasets such as Compustat, CRSP, TAQ, and I/B/E/S: they've created Classroom Tools by WRDS.

Their description:

WRDS is pleased to announce the launch of WRDS Classroom, a valuable addition to WRDS that brings the power of our flagship platform to the classroom. 

Imagine for a second that our world was remarkably static.

No new products or services would ever be created, largely because no new consumer demands ever arose. Demographics & desires... demand & supply -- all unchanging.  Companies wouldn't be competing with each other through new ways of advertising, innovative distribution systems, and improved production methods, so they'd all have settled into whatever slice of market share they'd captured back in the days when things were more dynamic.

In such a world, incumbent companies in any given industry would, I suspect, be very hard to push aside. New companies and new solutions would be rare, if not nonexistent.

I picture a friendly sort of guidebook that will help me with the key information I need as I start to navigate my way through a new field, sort of like the dog-eared travel guides I carried during my global backpacking days.

Hold that image in your mind as you consider the value of our new online collection of...

<Read on for details.. and links!>

We can't study, discuss, or understand anything until we agree on what to call it and how to define it.

I realize that may seem a trite truism, but the foundations of many of the most complex concepts are often formed of such simple principles. 

<Bear with me... I'm going somewhere with this...> 

Does a fish truly understand the water in which it swims?  

If H₂0 pervades the entire world of Gary the Guppy from the day he's born to the day he, well, turns belly up, does he ever consciously think about it at all? 

Have you ever been deep into research on an industry and found yourself wishing that someone -- anyone! -- would have already pulled together all the information on key trends and major statistics for that industry?

And maybe you then started daydreaming about how great it would be if you could get all that information in a single online source... and about how this hypothetical gem of a source might even include profiles of the top companies in the industry, perhaps around 300-500 companies per industry...?

In my last post, I listed some resources to help this semester's BUS 441 students be effective in planning and measuring marketing campaigns conducted via WordPress sites, Facebook, and Google AdWords.  

I hear that our BUS 441 students are embarking on a project that will have them designing marketing campaigns using WordPress websites, FaceBook ads, and Google AdWords, all while gathering data and adjusting their campaigns.

I'm sure the instructor will be providing detailed readings and guidance, but I thought I'd highlight a few of the other resources that might prove useful for such activities.

If nothing else, this list might be helpful for other SFU researchers interested in similar topics.

Frequent readers

Do you...

• Upload readings or other materials into Canvas?
• Include photos, diagrams or maps in your PowerPoint slides?
• Use blogs or social media in your courses?
• Use teaching materials you find online? 

All of these activities can implicate copyright.