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Fill your home with sound, not stereo components. Keep your music collection at your fingertips, not in countless CD cases. Change the way you experience digital music. For $349, iPod Hi-Fi delivers crystal-clear, audiophile-quality sound in a clean, compact design.
Might have to have me one of these. We probably turn our stereo on 3 or 4 times a year. I think I read that Apple has sold 10 million iPods. If 1% of them buy one of these... 100,000 at $350?
Sheryl Crow fan Ann (from Belgium) points to the Fan Forum on the official Sheryl Crow website. Sounds like well-wishers are organizing and participating in walk-a-thons to raise money for cancer research and treatment.
So how come advertising agencies aren't getting into blogging? Hugh MacLeod explains: "Blogging, when done correctly, is CHEAP and EASY. Ad agencies are in the business of selling stuff that is NEITHER." Hmmm.
Chuck points to study (Pew Internet & American Life Project) of high-speed Internet access in rural America:
Rural Americans are less likely to log on to the internet at home with high-speed internet connections than people living in other parts of the country. By the end of 2005, 24% of adult rural Americans went online at home with high-speed internet connections compared with 39% of adults in urban and suburban areas.
That's one of the findings in a new Harris Poll of about 3,000 U.S. adults.
While broadcast television news appears to be the most popular medium sought, many adults also get their news several times a week or daily by going online to get news (64%), reading a local daily newspaper (63%), listening to radio news broadcasts (54%), listening to talk radio stations (37%), listening to satellite news programming (19%), and reading a national newspaper (18%).
I live in closed little online world so I have no basis for doubting these numbers. But 63% of adults read the daily newspaper? Take a look at these numbers and tell me if they seem accurate based on your first-hand experience.
Update: Table on Media Usage from Radio Business Report. The most disturbing stat? Radio news tied with online in the 59+ group. Shudder.
Terry Heaton recommends "...broadcasters start viewing themselves as multimedia companies, and even changing their names to help spread the message both internally and externally. The internet is NOT broadcasting, and the more we understand that, the quicker we'll get on with business models that'll meet our needs in a Media 2.0 world."
A couple of years ago we dropped the "network" from one of our networks because it was felt to be somewhat...limiting. No long reflective of what we are or are becoming.
Un-pimp your VW is the theme of the new Volkswagen ad campaign. You can see the ad at YouTube where VW has gotten 700,000+ non-paid views of the ad this week. Clever ad aimed a young, hip audience. Every time I watch one of these, I'm reminded of all the pointless, vapid, irrelevant ads to which we are exposed. (Once upon a time, I wrote my share of these.)
So we have ads that people seek out and intentionally watch. And we have ads that people intentionally do not watch (Tivo, switch channels, leave the room, etc). Think of the thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of ads that are sold with the unspoken understanding that the only reason people are watching or listening to them is they don't have any/much choice in the matter. Hence the expresssion, "captive audience." What does it mean to our current media model if the audience escapes?
What if I only got paid for creating ads so good that people intentionally watch/listened to them? If I could do it, they would be very expensive ads. [via MIT Advertising Lab]
Dave Winer's simple explanation of blogging and OPML:
First, create a new weblog on one of the free services, like Blogger or MSN Spaces. It takes about five minutes, and is about as hard as creating an email address on Yahoo or Hotmail, and represents less of a commitment. Then make your first post, something like Hello There, or Testing 1-2-3. Once you've verified that it works, you can stop there.
Then someday, when you're in the shower or lying in bed in the morning and get an idea that you wish you could tell everyone, remember that you have a blog, and go to the computer, and write it up and publish it. That actually feels pretty good, even if you think no one will read it, because you got it off your chest.
Then in a few days Google will probably visit your site and index the post, and then when someone searches for that subject, your page will come up, and maybe you'll pass that idea on to someone who can use it, or meet someone who agrees, or someone who disagrees. And that's blogging, and that's all it is.
As for OPML:
Did you ever have an idea you wanted to post on your blog that didn't seem big enough to be an essay? An idea that could be expressed in a sentence, or less, but still deserved to get out there? In writing school they teach that less is better. If you can say someting in three words instead of twenty, say it in three. It communicates better. Well, none of the existing blogging tools can do little sentence or phrase-size blog posts.
I finally got a taste of current TV tonight (DirecTV 366). I say "finally" because I've heard about the channel but never bothered to find it and take a look. I thought it was interesting, fresh. If you're not familiar with the idea behind the channel:
"We slice our schedule into short segments that we call "pods" -- each just a few minutes long. And much of it comes straight from you. We call it viewer-created content, or VC2. Right now, VC2 makes up about a third of our channel -- and that share is growing. Anyone who wants to contribute can upload a video. Then, everyone in the Current online community votes for what should be on TV."
It was sort of like 60 Minutes for people under the age of 70. Very sharp graphics. And they include a little status bar near the bottom of the screen to let you know where you are in the segment. Nicely integrated with their website. I'll be going back for another taste.
Dave Morris talks for a living. More accurately, he reads. But he does it really well and gets paid a lot of money for doing it. He vows to never let us see him in action but I would welcome the opportunity to shoot some video of one of his recording sessions and share a little mini-documentary with his many readers.
And if Dave wants to give me something very special for my 58th birthday (March 8), he can produce a 30 second promo (a 60 would be even better) for smays.com.
This won't be difficult, Dave. It's late. You've had a few belts but you're not ready for bed. You go into your home studio, put something loud and fast on the stereo and start noodling around. Hit RECORD and let it happen. Jesus, I have goose bumps just thinking about it.
My drink-of-choice is iced tea. Specifically, Bigelow Peach Tea (quart size). I drink gallons of this stuff every week, year-round. For years, I've been buying it at a local supermarket that --as far as I know-- is the only place in town that carries this band/size. Every month or so, I go in and buy up every box they have (I leave one or two if I'm feeling compassionate).
I recently discovered the supermarket no longer stocks this flavor. No idea why. I scurried to the Bigelow website and ordered a couple of cases which showed up on my doorstep a few days later. Crises averted. I couldn't help seeing a parallel to what's happening in the music business.
Once upon a time, I thought of the supermarket as where my favorite ice tea comes from. But they were never anything more than a link in the distribution chain. The tea came from the Bigelow Tea Company. And now it comes directly from the company to me. I won't ever go to that store for this product again. No need. My relationship is with the tea company.
We used to rely on our local radio stations for music. They decided what to stock...how much to stock...and when to put fresh items on the shelf. If I didn't like their selection, I could go to another station. If none of the stations stocked my brand (reggae, for example)...I'm SOL. The radio stations determined what I listened to.
Internet...MP3...Napster...iPod...iTunes...oh my. I am now in control of my music and it feel good. At least in terms of music, the radio station was just a link in the distribution chain. The Internet is a short chain, just two links: the content and me.
As a small-town program director and DJ, I believed I was adding value to the listening experience by picking the "best" songs to play and the "best" order in which to play them, and by saying clever things between songs. Looking back, I realize the programming (content) that had the greatest value usually wasn't cool. Hometown News, Tradio, Grapevine, etc. But it was home-grown tea and you couldn't get it anywhere else.
Sheryl Crow had surgery for breast cancer a few days ago. According to her website, she underwent successful surgery on Wednesday and described the procedure as "minimally invasive." Doctors said her prognosis was excellent and she would have radiation treatments as a precaution.
"I am joining the more than 200,000 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year," Crow said. "We are a testament to the importance of early detection and new treatments ... I am inspired by the brave women who have faced this battle before me and grateful for the support of family and friends."
Several readers emailed to ask why I hadn't posted on this. I just hadn't seen the story. Now that I have, my stomach hurts but I expect a happy ending.
If The Dynamic Einstein were the only thing the Web ever achieved, it would be enough. Even the most profound thought (see photo) seems silly when written by a genius. Ooh. That might make a fitting tagline for smays.com, don't you think?
I refer, of course, to the "silly when written by" line... not the "poop hole dumping" line. (via Boing Boing)
Scott offers the following topics to prime my dry blog pump (Great T-Shirt #245):
I suppose it was inevitable but I hate admit it. I've hit a real dry spell. I got nothing. I don't think this is serious blogger burn-out and I've been here before but I've been find it difficult to post for the past week or two. You've already read everything I have to say about anything. Twice. Everything is humming along at work and home. Not down about anything. The tank is just empty. I'm tired of my own blather. I might take a few days off. We'll see.
A bunch of ag reporters (including one of ours) are at a media event in Johnston, Iowa (near Des Moines), hosted by Pioneer (big ag company). Not sure how many of the reporters were blogging the event but a couple for sure. As I watched the blogs I started wondering, what is the "best" medium for covering an event like this.
While highly unlikely that a broadcast station (radio or TV) or network would cover a day-long event live...would that, in fact, be better coverage? Probably the closest thing to being there yourself but unless they put the video/audio online for later, on-demand acess (and did so almost immediately)...you'd have to catch it live or miss it completely. And live broadast coverage (TV or radio) would offer little opportunity for some context and perspective by the reporter covering the event.
Is it even remotely possible that a really well-done blog (with still images, video, audio, RSS feed, etc etc etc) could have advantages over traditonal live coverage of the event? My heart wants to say "no way," but my head is saying, "maybe."
I've been doing radio for almost 35 years and blogging for just four and this just blows my mind. And I could be missing something here. For example, the print reporter might argue that his/her 1,000 word story in tomorrow's (or the day after) newspaper/magazine offers greater depth and insight and detail than a few short blog posts. Good point.
A TV guy might point out that his/her well-edited, high quality video package on the evening news is far superior to a few minutes of poorly-lighted video from a camcorder. True enough.
I'm not sure what the technical or content advantages radio has in this scenerio. I'll get back to you.
This sounds heretical --more blog hype-- until you actually watch a first-rate blogger cover an event and compare that to the more traditional media. And in the end, it will be the public that decides where to get the latest/best info.
Three interesting little bon-bon's from Tod Maffin's iloveradio.org: XM Radio is planning to put more ads on the air in 2006. (Sorry guys, won't pay subscription and listen to ads) ... Clear Channel expected to report drop in quarterly revenue. Less isn't always more. ... Chicago will soon offer wireless broadband city-wide -- extending its existing wireless blanket to all 228 square miles. In Philadelphia, EarthLink is building a citywide network that will charge a wholesale rate of $9 a month to Internet service providers that would then resell access to the public. Internet radio wherever you go.
Once again, Mark Ramsey demonstrates real insight into what's happening in/to the "radio business":
In the future, listeners will buy the content, not the channel. They’ll be more apt to listen to what’s ON your station, not your (radio) station itself. ... Talk to the TV networks and they’ll tell you that creating content is a risky, expensive business. But a handful of hits make all the risks worthwhile. The radio industry will have to awaken to new market realities: Investment, trial, failure, success. More programs, less programming. There will be no free lunches and no shortcuts. It will not be possible to operate multi-million dollar franchises like an FCC-licensed CD player.
Take a minute to read the full post. Good stuff.
The local newspaper did a nice feature story on The Living Healthy Podcast, complete with some nice pix of Dr. Domke and his Faithful Indian Companion. The sub-head ("Domke joins growing number of doctors who offer advice via podcast") seemed like a bit of a stretch. I'm unaware of any physicians in mid-Missouri who are podcasting. In fact, if you know of any podcasting docs anywhere in the state, send me a link.
The reporter who wrote the piece, Natalie Fieleke, was trying to find something of a trend here and had to reach a bit to find any medical podcasts (Johns Hopkins, Arizona Heart Institute, Mayo Clinic, etc). But that's okay. I think Henry is just early to the dance on this. As of this posting, it doesn't appear the article is on the News Tribune website. If I find it, I'll add a link.
The goal of our little podcast is to provide information to Dr. Domke's patients (and others) and a little MSM pub can't hurt. Thank you, Natalie.
Someone found their way to Dave's Window using the search term above. Dave insists he has nothing on his blog "about colon-dwelling woodchucks," and adds: "If I did, I would admit it. That's just how I roll."
At Dave's suggestion, I checked my own referral stats and found that someone had found their way to smays.com by searching Google/UK for: "poop hole dumping turd movie." I'm pretty sure I have used each of those words at least once and vow to you...here and now... to use them in a sentence at the first opportunity.
The good news: The Ricky Gervais Show (podcast) does not end after show #12. The not-quite-as-good news: the show will now cost $1.95 per episode (or $6.95 for the season). I think it's perfectly reasonable for those guys to get paid. I'm not sure I'll pay two bucks a pop, however. Pretty sure I'd go for 99 cents per. And they're moving the show from iTunes to Audible. I'll probably check it out but if I had to guess, I'll move on to something else. And I really like the show. Just not enough.
You can tell how much I liked a book (non-fiction) by the number passages I highligh and how many Post-It flags bristle from the pages. I love marking up a book and so does "productivity blogger" Bert Webb. He's a little more serious about it than I and offers a dozen do's and don't's. [via lifehacker]
Single-digit revenue gains for commercial radio (US) forecast for 2006 (iloveradio.org) ... Friday was Rick Sellers' last day on the the air at KMRY, Cedar Rapids, IA. I knew Rick during his WMT days. Rick owns and manages KMRY ... Hadn't checked on the Frappr map for a few weeks but delighted to see that didgeridoodler Jamie Nelson (Larkspur, CA) has made it coast-to-coast. Looking forward to seeing Jamie (and all the rest) at Gnomedex 6.0 in late June ... Jim Mathies is developing a feed reader. I don't pretend to understand what he's doing but I can tell you that he's a clever boy and likely to come up with something wonderful. Stay tuned ... Andy Rooney wonders if we should be honoring all presidents. Me too.
I have this idea for a screenplay but I'm thinking it's already been done. And, if not, I don't have an ending.
Famous female rock star breaks off high-profile engagement to equally famous sports figure. This tough, smart, independent woman hears her biological clock ticking and decides to have a baby on her own and worry about meeting Mr. Right later (or never). But she needs sperm donor. The normal procedure sounds cold and sterile so she decides to do it the old fashioned way and starts looking for the lucky guy. Several humorous, unsuccessful candidates later, she's about to give up when fate brings her together with The Guy.
He's a romantic who wants nothing to do with the scheme but gets tricked into the sack and the deed gets done. She tries to give him a bunch of go-away money but he doesn't want it and just goes back to his anonymous life.
A few months pass and the media notices that Famous Female Rock Star is in a family way and goes searching for the father. Relentless Reporter tracks down The Guy.
So we've got Girl-Meets-Boy...Girl-Loses-Boy... but I'm stuck on how to get them back together.
And I'm thinking this movie has already been made but I can't come up with the title. Sounds a little like Notting Hill. Any of you film buffs out there help me out on this? Have I seen this movie and just forgotten it?
I kind of see Kevin Connolly as The Guy. And maybe Sienna Miller as The Rock Star? Would help if she could sing but not critical.
I'm gonna keep working on this because I want a happy ending for the Famous Female Rock Star.
While watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off for the ____ time, it dawned on me that the actor playing Mr. Rooney, the school counselor (Jeffrey Jones), is the newspaper publisher on Deadwood. And, yes, I am aware that I'm the only person on the planet that had not already made that connection.
Randy comments: "Good actor, bad man." [Smoking Gun]
Henry forwarded a link to a Slate piece that suggests blogs --as businesses-- have peaked. If you're a regular, you aleady know my thoughts on blogging. Companies with a clue, confidence and a good blogger... can/will make valuable use of blogs. As to the Slate article, I refer you to Dave Winer who sees blogging as "part of life":
Blogs are where new businesses will spring from. Think of blogs as being like dorm rooms, and remember that’s where Dell Computer came from. Blogging communities are incubators. Some communities incubate negative stuff, plenty of those, but occasionally a blogging community serves as the launching pad for something good. There will be a steady stream of those, and they will be on the cover of magazines, and will belong there.
Scott Adams has advice for new graduates. My favorites are:
I also kind of liked one of the commnets: "Unprofessional" and "passionate" is the same thing.
This delightful Australian commercial for McDonald's reminds me that 30's and 60's can still work. This also reminds me how easy it is to manipulate me if you can get my attenion for a minute. Note that I found/watched this ad online. [Advertising for Peanuts via AdRants]
Today's masthead image is courtesy of Jackie Johnson. It's all chopped and cropped to fit, so be sure to check out the originals, here, here, here and here.
In the latest Living Healthy Podcast (#17), my friend Henry (Dr. Domke) talks about heartburn. We've got two more shows in the can (Sore Throat, Mono or Step?; Tips for Travelling Healthy) and when we record this Tuesday (Sexually Transmitted Diseases), we'll have 20 shows under our belts. I really don't think we'll have any trouble getting to 52. Shoot, we're almost half-way there.
This is such a good idea. First time I've seen it but I predict it will be routine in the not-to-distant future. AgWired's Chuck Zimmerman will be blogging the 2006 Commodity Classic:
All the pictures I take and video and audio I record will be pre-loaded onto a video iPod. One of those things will be country music star Michael Peterson’s performance that’s being sponsored by New Holland. Once we know who the winner is Michael will record a personal message which we’ll also load onto the iPod. And, there’s more. We’ll also load Michael’s newest CD, “Down on the Farm,” which you can currently only purchase from your local New Holland dealer. It won’t be out in stores until later this spring.
Or you could hand out some key-chains.
I'd sure hate for XM to go away but it's a less disturbing prospect with my podcast-packed nano in my pocket. This is a good example of why companies should be blogging. Is there an official XM Radio blog? ... PR firms are starting to hire bloggers. ... Congrats to Bob Hague on being promoted to news director of Wisconsin Radio Network. ... Jackie Johnson (who works with Bob Hague) shares this thought-provoking photo.
The News-Press in Florida has dedicated two reporters called mobile journalists, or mojos who are equipped with digital cameras, MP3 recorders and wireless laptops. Their job is to find hyper-local stories that don't get into the newspaper and to train members of the community to file directly to the Web site. [Blogspotting]
Does that sound like a fun job, or what? I wonder what kind of stories we might get if we accepted audio reports from people throughout the states we serve? (That sound you heard was the people in our newsrooms, screaming.) I can't beleive someone isn't already doing this. Think Flickr but "news" audio instead of images. Upload MP3 files to a big database, tagging each one (politics, St. Louis, sports, etc). Sure, you'd get a lot of crap but people would sort that out with some kind of "trust" rating system. The better stuff would float to the top...the crap would sink to the bottom.
As a statewide radio network, we sometimes struggle to get news from areas where we have no affiliate. Would it make sense for us to be recruiting and training "citizen reporters?" We have about 60 radio station affiliates in each of the states we serve. And not all of them have full-time reporters. What if we had digital stringers in 600 cities and towns throughout the state? What if we weren't limited to 4 minute newscasts and 10 second sound bites?
Local radio stations could building this kind of news gathering effort. I remember when newspapers featured "community highlight" columns written by people in the small towns they served. It's probably still being done.
Okay. I'm tired of thinking about this.
Thanks to Chuck for alerting us to the Sheryl Crow Got Milk? campaign. I've requested a hi rez version of this poster but I think I might be closer to stalker than media. We'll see. Voila! [Larger version] And now that I can read the copy on the poster... Bravo to the guy that came up with "Rock Hard."
Sounds like SC and LA have lifted the black-out on the breakup: Lance used his satellite radio program to talk about the breakup, saying lots of nice things about his former love. And Sheryl was talking with Ellen DeGeneres. The 44-year-old rocker thanked fans for their support and noted that -- despite the heartache -- she is free and single again. "‘All my friends say I have to get right back on the bike," Crow quipped, "‘and I keep saying, 'Maybe not a bike.'"
"It is an imagined last show and so it's in the context of being taken over by a radio conglomerate, which is happening to a lot of radio shows at home." Written by Garrison Keillor and starring Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline and Lily Tomlin. [Reuters story]
I always liked the Wolfman Jack scenes from American Graffiti. Something about being on the air, alone in a radio station at night. Something we'll never experience with podcasting. That real-time connection with listeners in the middle of the night. Sigh.
Andy W. is an artist so it's no surprise that he gets better pix with his camera phone than the average bear. He says he'd rather give us an image than a thousand words. Speaking of images...two short-but-interesting videos on YouTube: This clip features a dead-pan Asian girl putting her butterfly knife through its paces (Views: 156,778). Check out the second hip hop dancer in this video (Views: 322,221)
Former Learfielder and Pal-o-Mine Nate Jolly has decided he doesn't want to sell spots for Clear Channel Communications. Huh.
I decided a little earlier this month that I didn't want the up and down paychecks and lifestyle of full commision sales. So I've decided to go another route... I've actually just today started a job doing some web/course development for a non-profit here in DC. It is better in almost every way. Better hours, better benefits, less of a commute, waaay more money, more relaxed work environment, and did I mention that my hours are from 10-6... 10 to fucking 6. Sleeping in has never felt so good.
And he doesn't have to sell Season Greetings every November.
Chuck Z. (AgWired) already has more business than he can take care of and he's looking for bloggers and podcasters:
Passionate about agriculture. Willing to write one or more articles per day at least 5 days per week. Can be brief and yet offer significant information and ideas. Computer literate (knows how to make a hyperlink, Google’s to find out stuff, etc.). Already blogs would be nice. Can take a decent digital photo and edit it. Owns a digital camera and notebook computer.
I don’t care if you have a “day” job. I don’t care if you’re currently unemployed even. What I will care about is quality, self-initiative and dependability.
My first thought was anyone with this skill set has or can land a full-time gig. They don't have to take digital piece work. But maybe you like your day job (with 401k and health benefits) but would like to indulge your "passion for agriculture" in your spare time...be part of a communications revolution...and pick up a few bucks to boot. Maybe you're an FFA student working your way through college. Maybe you're a radio news guy making $22k.
I have no doubt Chuck will find his bloggers and podcasters. And he won't care if they work in their pajamas.
Jeff Jarvis on the the Rockeboom ad auction:
And here we have in a microcosm the explanation of why media is so horribly out of sync today: The public is valuing new media much more than the old, but the advertisers still value the old. Most every newspaper and in many cases TV networks and magazines have much larger audiences online, but the revenue for their old media properties remains much higher because the advertisers and agencies still value the old and the safe. They want metrics. They want control. They want guarantees. This, in turn, makes big publishers and producers play it safe because they don’t want to mess with the cash cow. And that means that advertisers miss the opportunity to reach a larger, younger, smarter audience in the new medium, which is -- supposedly -- what they’re dying to do. And that means that big media companies now face competition from a thousand Rocketbooms and a million Gawkers.
And if you are in the media/advertising business and you've never heard of Rocketboom or Gawker... you're probably already screwed. Tick, tock...tick, tock.
Guy Kawasaki offers tips for effective email. All good but my two favorites:
Attach files infrequently. How often do you get an email that says, "Please read the attached letter."? Then you open the attachment, and it's a dumb-shitcake Word document with a three paragraph message that could have easily been copied and pasted into the email.
Never forward something that you think is funny. The odds are that by the time you've received it, your recipient already has too, so what is intended as funny is now tedious.
May I add one of my own? When you send an all-company email, please put the recipients in the BCC field so we don't have to scroll through 300 names. And please, try to resist the impulse to reply-to-all with something witty like, "I couldn't agree more." The reply-to-all button should automatically include something along the lines of "This is a Reply-to-All from a Clueless Ass-Clown" ...right at the top of the message.
For some reason Barb wanted to watch the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Can anyone explain why this international event...taking place in Italy...had a '70s disco sound track?
For the past couple of months, Harvard Medical School course lectures have been available as podcasts for students, faculty, and staff. HMS says this is the first time any medical school has used an iPod as an educational tool to distribute the entire curriculum. No reason to ever miss another lecture. [via Scripting News]
This is why you should always have a camera with you. Jackie Johnson, a co-worker in our Madison, WI newsroom, captured the amazing image below:
"I’ve seen many bald eagles in my life, but never one in the wild just a couple feet away from me! The other day I came across a mature bald eagle on the side of the road eating roadkill! It was cool! I hit the breaks so as not to kill this endangered species, and simultaneously grabbed my camera and manage to get a somewhat decent shot as the fully-grown bird flew away. It’s a little blurry as I frantically tried to contain my excitement."
Oprah Winfrey has signed a three-year, $55 million deal for her own channel on XM Satellite Radio. "Oprah & Friends," as the channel will be known, is aimed at closing satellite radio's gender gap. Men account for about two-thirds of the 9.3 million satellite subscriptions nationwide, but XM and its rival, Sirius Satellite Radio of New York, expect to attract more women as they purchase cars equipped with satellite radios.
Somehow, I just think the XM guys understand this satellite radio thing better than the other guys. This sounds like a really good idea to me.
CBS has cancelled Love Monkey after just three episodes. CBS plans to fill the slot with The Amazing Race. That's network TV in 25 words or less. Is it possible to get just the Comedy Channel and HBO? I believe I will live to see that day, but it won't be satellite/cable. I'll buy the content direct from the producers, online. TV will become (has become?) the medium for reaching the unwashed masses. People who can afford to buy it will get the best entertainment. Those that can't won't.
Received a news release today from Monsanto announcing a new video podcast called, Conversations about Plant Biotechnology. These are short (the one I watched was just a couple of minutes) and extremely well produced. They feature "... farmers and experts discussing their personal views and first-hand experiences with genetically modified crops."
Difficult for me to imagine someone subscribing to these on a regular basis but then I'm not interested in biotechnology. I think this is a very good use of video podcasting and expect to see lot more of it. I'd package it with a good audio podcast and a blog.
Podcasting is easy and inexpensive which has a lot to do with why so many people are doing it. But, like with many "hobbies," it can be difficult to sustain over the long haul and some podcasters are starting to pack it in. They call it podfading. Rob Walch (Podcast411) estimates at least a fifth of podcasters don't make it to their 10th show and he won't interview a podcaster until the show has at least 10 episodes. This week Henry and I recorded our 16th podcast and I see no signs of fading. I think we both have sort of an unspoken target of 52 shows. Would be fun to make it a full year.
Andy and I have been working...or not working...or thinking about working on a new look for the Learfield corporate website for most of a year. And tonight we "relaunched." Tomorrow a few hundred people will start calling and emailing to tell me they can't find something on the company intranet or that they think the new look sucks. Or both. But that's all part of the drill. The site is three years old and way past dew for a make-over. The new design has lots of white space and has a nice, open feel about it.
I'm reminded of the early days (1996?) when we put up the first FrontPage monstrosities. Nobody gave a second thought to websites back then so it didn't matter if they looked like shit. Or maybe we just hadn't seen enough good sites to recognize bad ones. No more. Increasingly, the worlds first impression of your company is the website and it better look good, have some useful content and be well organized. It is a never ending struggle. But it's time for a cold Bud.
Broadcast sales execs are still upbeat about the future. Sort of. From an informal Banc of America Securities survey of 46 GSMs and other sales execs at the recent Radio Advertising Bureau meeting:
From Billboard Radio Monitor [via RAIN]
