Joe Bankhead helped put KBOA (Kennett, MO) on the air back in 1947. One of the original employees. Also a good friend of my father. Joe tells his story better than I can. The man has seen a lot of radio.
Why health care costs keep rising
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It’s nearly impossible to separate the truth from the politics, bullshit and greed surrounding the debate on health care in the U.S. But This American Life brings it in to clear focus in this first of a two part series.
An hour explaining the American health care system, specifically, why it is that costs keep rising. One story looks at the doctors, one at the patients and one at the insurance industry.
Don’t even mention this subject to me until you’ve listened to this program.
Taisir shakin’ it down
Zena and Mike Mah
Zena is the traveling companion of Mike Mah, a pain management specialist who “practices healing techniques through martial arts.” They visited Learfield in 2006. Mike insists Zena rides on the motorcycle with him, hence the goggles.
Do you need a “website?
My pals at the local yoga center have been asking for my advice on re-doing their website. Since my advice is free, I don’t have to worry too much about it being good advice. But if I were doing this and didn’t have to answer to a committee (or Vishnu) I think I might go in this direction. (Nothing original here, BTW. Regular readers know who my influences are)
Don’t make people come to you (or your website). Take your information to where they are: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, etc.
I like posterous for feeding these social nodes. And it gives you a nice, clean, low-maintenance “place” to park your domain.
What is Google Wave?
Ah, starting to make sense. I’d very much like to try this out. I no longer rely on email as my primary means of communicating online. Google Wave just might be The Thing.
Drop a text “dime” on the jerk in the row behind you
Iowa State and University of Iowa football fans can now text university staff to alert them to problems. Like some drunk ass clown sitting behind you screaming obscenities. Or a lost child or something.
They just punch in 97178, then type the word ALERT, before sending a text message (including your seat location).
Hawkeye officials implemented a new text messaging system before the season, in order to give fans quick and discrete access to ushers as well as security and medical personnel.
The texting program is part of a larger communications agreement with Learfield Sports (company I work for) and FanDriveMedia. Full story here.
Top 10 Reasons Chicago Failed to Win the 2016 Olympics
From my friend (and recovering Bush apologist) David Brazeal:
10. IOC delegates disappointed to discover Oprah hadn’t hidden portable DVD players under their seats.
9. Voters perturbed by President Obama’s effort to lead them in a chant of “USA! USA!”
8. US credibility damaged when Michelle Obama expressed her hope to meet “international soccer star David Beckett.”
7. Many of Chicago’s most supportive IOC delegates still partying in Pittsburgh after last week’s G-20 protests.
6. Chicago officials bribed delegates with US dollars instead of euros.
5. Delegates unswayed by promises that Chicago Olympics will “save or create 8-million jobs.”
4. Withdrawal of US missile defense from Eastern Europe swayed large bloc of Polish and Czech soccer moms to support Rio de Janeiro.
3. Voters creeped out by Joe Biden’s pro-Chicago video presentation, praising “northern girls with the way they kiss.”
2. Delegates turned off when American Kanye West interrupted Tokyo’s presentation to say Beyonce really deserves to win.
1. It’s all George W. Bush’s fault.
The boys remains one of the funniest people I kn0w. [Files under: Too Funny for His Job]
Better tool for journalists, iPhone or BlackBerry?
Etan Horowitz, posting on E-Media Tidbits, attempts (and succeeds, in my opinion) to answer the question: Which is better tool for journalists, BlackBerry or iPhone? I’ll just share his conclusions here and you can read the full post:
“In the days when producing content mainly happened from a laptop or the office, the BlackBerry made a lot of sense. It is a perfect tool for communicating quickly by e-mail or text and looking up information online. But now that many journalists are expected to post stories, blog posts, photos and videos from the field, the iPhone is a better option.
As a profession, journalism is still struggling to find its footing in the digital age. Since most of the innovative mobile applications are being developed for the iPhone, using an iPhone will help journalists stay current with technology and get them excited about its potential for news.
Don’t believe me? Just give an iPhone to one of the old-school types in your newsroom and see how they react after a few days of use. They’re likely to tell you the device changed their life. You won’t get the same response by giving someone a BlackBerry.
But that doesn’t mean the iPhone is best for all journalists. Editors, Web producers and others who don’t report from the field but frequently communicate with a team will probably be better served by a BlackBerry. And the fact that BlackBerrys cost less, run on multiple carriers and have removable batteries and memory cards are also valid considerations.” [Thanks, Aaron for the link]
Big St. Louis architectural firm getting their blog on
Clyde found this blogging success story in the St. Louis Business Journal. It’s about HOK a global architectural firm with headquarters in St. Louis (I assume). It’s a biggie, with $752 million in revenue in 2008.
A year ago they launched a blog (HOKLife.com) to put a more human face on the firm, which has 2,000+ employees, and to communicate with potential hires, clients and competitors.
It’s a group blog with three dozen contributors from their offices around the world, whose posts, by the way, are not edited. Senior writer John Gilmore:
“Young readers are very savvy, and they know when something’s not authentic. If hour’s not authentic, it’s the kiss of death for a corporate blog.”
True that. The Business Journal article included some findings of a 2009 survey (of companies with more than 1,000 employees). Among the findings, companies with blogs reported higher levels of customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, greenness, revenue and market share.
The companies with blogs reported revenue per employee of $336,792, compared to $263,333 for those without blogs.
Despite success stories like this one, there remains –even in our company– pockets of resistance to blogging as a communications tool. And I’m convinced it comes down to control. Like HOK’s Gilmore said above, it’s got to be authentic and that means unfiltered and unedited. And that’s really difficult for managers who are centralized, command-and-control guys in their DNA.
If you have a subscription to the StL Biz Journal, you can read the full article here.