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.
Category Archives: Media & Culture
You = Your iTunes
Tom Peters says his #1 belief about management is: You = Your Calendar.
“All we have is our time. The way we distribute it is our ‘strategic plan,’ our ‘vision,’ our ‘values.’ Period. So how’d you spend your precious time today? Tell me, and I’ll tell you what you actually care about — it’s simple and unerring.”
Maybe. But I don’t want to be my calendar. Nobody has to guess what bloggers care about. It’s all right here. But if I weren’t a blogger, you could look at my iPod and get a sense of who I am. In fact, here’s what you can do in lieu of a memorial service for smays: Plug my nano into a good sound system…put it on shuffle… and let it play until the battery runs down. Friends can stop by for a few minutes and listen.
The Onion: Writers not fans of Sheryl Crow
From the Onion: “Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong found his endurance stretched “almost to the breaking point” last Friday by a three-hour, 30-song concert presented by his fiancée, pop-folk singer Sheryl Crow.”
I’m posting this because a) I’m a fan and subscriber of the Onion and b) my friend/co-worker Bob took the time to forward. But it just isn’t up to the Onion’s high standards. Shit, I could have written that. Somebody must have been on deadline.
Retirement: Relic of the Industrial Age
“Funny thing about getting older. Time goes faster. When you’re young you do time on the bunny slope, easing along at a slow and careful pace. Then as you grow up and become an adult, you go over to the intermediate slope, making the most of time rushing by. Not quite finally, as your dotage approaches, you move over to the black diamond slope, and you carreen downward to Certain Death. … I’m enjoying work now more than ever, running life’s slalom like a wacko skier in a Warren Miller movie. The certainty of death doesn’t bother me. If anything, it motivates me. But the word “retirement” creeps me out. It’s a relic of the Industrial Age I’ve devoted my life to ending.” — Doc Searls
Every time the idea of “retirement” comes up, I’m the only one in the room who hopes to work until the day I die. It’s comforting to know there are others out there.
Who do you resemble?
This genealogy website compares the facial characteristics of an uploaded photo to those of celebrity photos in their database. My best match (61%) was Jean Chretien, the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. I look less like Paul Newman (44%) and bear a similar resemblance to Barbara Streisand and George W. Bush (42%). Thanks to Jeff who is the spitting image of Jack Ruby, Steven Spielberg and Christina Aguilera.
Media Maturity
Jon Fine (BusinessWeek online) on mature media:
“You can’t imagine letting people leave comments about you for everyone to see. You can’t imagine rank amateurs’ content being more attractive than that produced by a Mature Medium. (You silently scream: “It took me decades to get where I am!”) You can’t see that News Corp. and Suzuki have calculated — zenlike — that the only way to maintain control is to give it up. That they realize media go both ways now. That they can’t hide behind their accustomed walls. To do so may protect your flank, but at the risk of closing yourself off to the Next Big Thing.”
I am making a concerted effort to not talk about “all of this,” because it is simply impossible to grok what’s happening if you are not participating in it. Non-bloggers can’t see the attraction, let alone the implications. Those who aren’t listening to podcasts, can’t understand why anyone would or how it might impact their business. Like they say in the hospital movies, “I’m afraid all we can do now is try to keep him comfortable.”
My Enormous Penis
From Enormous Penis by Da Vinci’s Notebook. MP3 audio sample
S&P: Bumpy road for media companies
According to this Business Week story, Standard & Poor’s sees a bumpy road ahead for media companies:
S&P expects radio advertising to grow only in the low-single-digit percentages in 2006. Radio ad demand is under pressure from competing media such as the iPod and satellite radio, as well as from excess commercial loads. … Even with lethargic revenue growth, radio broadcasters generate significant free cash flow.
S&P expects that online ad growth in 2006 will exceed 20%, reflecting the continued strength of both search and brand advertising. Marketers appear to be gaining confidence in the Internet’s ability to reach consumers. For example, Yahoo! indicated that its brand-marketing revenue from the top 200 U.S. brand advertisers grew more than 45% in second-quarter 2005, and Ford Motor has allocated about 15% of its marketing budget to online initiatives. Furthermore, some marketers have begun to incorporate search advertising as part of their overall branding campaigns, which could spur more online-ad spending.
Even assuming that growth decelerates somewhat, Internet advertising is likely to exceed magazine advertising in 2006. Spending on Internet ads could potentially surpass spending on radio in 2008, assuming 1% to 2% growth in radio ad spending and a minimal contribution from satellite radio.
Hmmm.
Al Franken podcast newscast
According to the folks at Air America Radio, beginning in January Franken will launch a daily podcast newscast. It will be Franken’s voice, but according to Air America, the audio will be lip-synced by attractive underwear models, with both male and female versions. [B&C]
How I would have loved to have been in the meeting where that idea was first floated.
Newsroom naming rights
Madison radio station WIBA has sold the naming rights to its newsroom. According to a story in the Wisconsin State Journal, beginning January 1, the WIBA newsroom will be called the Amcore Bank News Center. Jeff Tyler, vice president of Clear Channel Radio-Madison, says the deal will not affect news content.
(Disclosure) Our company does business with WIBA and I met Jeff Tyler some years ago. A very sharp guy and a well-respected radio station.
What happens if the FDIC decides to investigate some of the Amcore Banks in Wisconsin? If WIBA does a story (or does not), a listener might wonder if there was any influence. Now that I think about it, it won’t matter. A swarm of bloggers will be all of any such story. Just one more missing frog in the broadcast journalism ecosystem.