Maven: It's Not Google That's Gone Wild

I have in front of me right now a CNNMoney story, one of the first on the looming Christmas shopping season.

It's a curtain opener for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving commonly acknowledged as the official start of the holiday shopping season.

Apparently, mall operators such as Simon Property Group(SPG Quote) and Tanger Factory Outlet Centers(SKT Quote) have experimented with opening for Black Friday at midnight and it has worked, so they are going to experiment further; that is, extend the practice to more locations.

Investor beware. Because a holiday Friday is a slow news day, the business media have a nasty way of sending reporters low on seniority into the field.

These reporters usually come back with tales of a tussle or two on line and spin it into a yarn of robust demand, whatever the ultimate reality.

With midnight madness, the tendency to do this will be amplified. A fight at night! Must mean good same-store sales.

While we're on this subject, let's review what to look out for next.

As I pointed out last year, as soon as Black Friday is over, the retail industry has the business media eating out of its hand over "Cyber Monday," the Monday after Thanksgiving when everyone goes back to work but shops online from their work computers.

There also are claims of "Super Saturday" and "Last-Minute Friday."

In other words, the impact of Black Friday as a predictor of the holiday season has been diluted.