Jeff Jarvis reports: “Last night, ABCNews.com called asking for me to make a video at home with comment on AppleTV. I taped it, edited it, and FTPed it in and now here is the finished product.”
If you are a reporter in 2007 and you have no idea how to do what Jarvis did, your days are numbered.
Seth says there are two kinds of people in the world:
“The folks that want (need!) an iPhone, and those that couldn’t care less. And of course it’s not just Apple and it’s not just phones. It’s every single industry in the world. You’re not likely to convert one group into the other. What you can do is decide which group you’d like to market to.”
There you go. I am in the first group and Jobs sold me in the first five minutes.
One of the first Learfield networks to have a website was Radio Iowa, our state news network in Iowa. That must have been around 1996 and it was created (using Frontpage) by Dan Arnall and Allen Hammock, a couple college guys we hired to help us figure out “this Internet thing.”
Dan and Allen went on to pursue new adventures a long time ago. And we’ve added lots of websites –for our company and for clients– since those early days.
This week we relaunched RadioIowa.com. We relaunched WRN.com a about a month back and we’ll be putting up the new Missourinet.com in a couple of weeks.
Our news networks are pretty narrow in focus. We cover the legislature, state government and –with the help of our affiliates– news from throughout our respective states.
Our websites reflect that focus. State news and sports, with an emphasis on the sounds of the news. We are, first and foremost, radio networks. Our websites are designed to complement them. They are not high-traffic, destination sites. Time will tell if this strategy is the correct one. The next couple of years should be interesting.
Our new sites are very blog-like. At WRN.com, we blog the sports and our news director maintains a blog. At Radio Iowa, News Director O. Kay Henderson is generating a real following for her political blog.
Time will tell if I have taken us in the right direction with these sites. If you like what you see, email me and I’ll put you in touch with Andy Waschick, the man behind all of Learfield’s websites. If you don’t… please don’t tell me.
You know I’m not a cell phone guy. Nobody to call…nobody to call me (‘cept Barb). But the new Apple iPhone is so much more than a cell phone. Makes the Treo and the Blackberry look like Fisher Price toys. The iPod led me to purchase the MacBook…and the MacBook will probably lead me to buy an iPhone.
Update: Just watched Jobs’ keynote. Amazing. And take a look at the effect of the iPhone announcement on Palm (Treo) and Rimm (Blackberry) stock in the hours following.
Brandweek has a good article on how marketing on cell phones is finally starting to work:
“Crammed into his seat on his way into Manhattan, a businessman uses his cell phone to log onto Weather.com just to see if there’s some sunshine on the way (“Seventeen inches of snow expected by the weekend.”) Just then, a bright blue banner ad with white lettering pops up on and grabs his attention: “Aruba” …He clicks on the banner ad, and his phone dials an 800 number, connecting him to an Aruba Tourism booking agent. “
The article includes several good examples.
TIME Managing Editor Richard Stengel describes some changes at the magazine that “…reflect the way the Internet is affecting pretty much everything about the news business.”
In addition to a new publication date (Friday), the new feature that caught my eye was a blog:
“…now you can start your day by checking our news blog, The Ag, which smartly aggregates and summarizes the most important stories from daily newspapers and blogs around the world.”
Hmm. Someone forgot to tell the editors at TIME that real journalists don’t blog.
Verizon Wireless is expected to announce it will offer full-length programming to its cellular subscribers from several major television networks. The service, which should be in operation by the end of March, will consist of eight channels and will include popular shows from NBC, CBS, Fox and MTV, they said. ESPN is reportedly also in negotiations to offer programs, which will be offered for the cellphone screen soon after they appear on television. [New York Times]
This post by Terry Heaton made me flash on a Google search page with a “Pages from Missouri” button (or any of the states where we have networks):
“Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it easily accessible to everyone. This ought to be the mission of every local media company, for one day we will find a similar button on Google regardless of the zip code from which we are logging in.”
Will Google be able to cover state news (with audio, video, stills,etc) better than our networks? Blasphemy I know, but it doesn’t seem wise to assume that our little corner of the news/media world will be untouched by the changes happening all around us.
That’s the intrigueing tag line of the Underground Ozarks Blog.
“… a site all about urban exploration in the Ozarks area. You’ll find information and pictures of abandoned places, sewers and drains, ghost towns, and more. If it’s in the Ozarks area, or just close enough to drive to, and you’re not supposed to go there… We’ll get it on the site eventually.”
The blog is written under the nom de guerre, White Rabbit who, along with pals Hiccup, Memory_machine and others, explore (and photograph) some very cool placess. Falstaff Brewery, Nike (Missle) Battery, Erie Sinkhole, “Albino Farm,” Acid Tunnel… just name a few.
If browsing the UOB makes you want to jump into your waders and explore, be sure to read White Rabbit’s disclaimer first:
“Just because I do something stupid, doesn’t mean you need to do it, too. Some of the places listed on this site can be extremely hazardous. Adding to that, many of them are also on private property, which means you could be ticketed or arrested if you go there without permission.
In other words, I’m not responsible for you. I would never tell anyone not to go out and explore, but I sure as hell didn’t tell you to do it either. So if you get maimed, killed, or thrown in jail, don’t come crying to me with a subpoena, because it’s not my fault. I don’t have any freaking money anyway.”
Not a bad Philosophy of Life, if you think about it. [Thanks David]
It took me a while to become a fan of the U.S. version of The Office but I’m there. It rivals the original UK verson. But I’ve got some catching up to do and started this weekend by watching the entire first season on DVD. Including deleted scenes. The second season DVD is calling to me but I fear if I put it on I’ll watch the entire season in one setting. Comedy this good should be savored.