iPhone Line: 10:00 a.m.

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I stopped by the Jefferson City (MO) AT&T store to see if anyone was waiting in line for the new iPhone. James Whitehead was first in line. He says he’s been on-site since Wednesday but was staying in his truck until this morning. James –from Lake Ozark, Missouri– describes himself as a “technology whore,” and is buying the iPhone mostly for the cool factor. He’s not even a Mac user (yet).

There were four hardy (geeky) souls in line and I left them my umbrella since it looks like it could pour at any moment. I’ll post some more video this evening, once James has his prize.

Seth Godin: Different kinds of advertising

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“The first kind is the rational kind. Yellow Page ads, direct mail and Google AdWords fit into this category. This is advertising that works, if ‘works’ is defined as, “pay $3 and make $4.” With measurable direct advertising, you can count on profit-minded small organizations to give it a try (small buys) and if it obviously makes money, to buy some more.

The second kind of advertising is the glamorous kind, the kind that people think of when they think of the Super Bowl or Time magazine or of profitable ads that are worth selling. These ads don’t sell because they work. They sell because they are sold.

Let me be fair: they work if we define ‘working’ as: pleasing the client, pleasing the agency, increasing brand goodwill, and building, over time, a groundswell of awareness and brand respect that ultimately leads to profits.”

— Seth’s blog post on selling advertising.

Learfield Sports Operations: Then and Now

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The Learfield Sports Operations Center is a real thing of beauty. Great equipment, well designed. A really nice place to produce sports broadcasts. It wasn’t always so. My recent photo spelunk turned up this shot taken in the basement of Learfield’s former headquarters, an old house on McCarty Street. Kim Steiner (the guy in the photo) was about 5′ 7″.

In 1984, we began producing the broadcasts for Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Kansas. We already had the rights to Missouri and were producing those broadcasts in a studio shared with The Missourinet. Because there was absolutely no more room for studios, the engineers jammed some small mixing consoles into a corner space in the basement (where the engineers also lived).

Cramped, dusty and… dangerous. You could always recognize the new guys by the contusions and lacerations on their foreheads.

Internet passes radio as “most essential” media

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“Less than one of five Americans (17%) say radio is their most important medium for information and entertainment. That’s down from 26% in 2002. What’s changing is obvious – the Internet is quickly becoming a turn-to medium. One-third of Americans say it’s now the most important — compared to 36% who pick TV. A big jump from 2002 when just 20% said the Web. A new Edison Media Research report also shows the Internet and TV have swapped places as the “most cool and exciting” media with 38% now picking the Web versus 35% for TV. Edison’s report also finds newspapers are most-often picked as the “least essential” medium by 35% of consumers. It’s followed by the Internet with 24%. Both radio and TV had the fewest mentions at 18%.”– Inside Radio

Blurring the lines between fan and sportswriter

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Thanks to Edward for pointing to this story on the Kansas City Star website about sports blogging:

Meet the new American sports fan — an Internet-induced mix of sportswriter, play-by-play announcer, talking head and regular guy. His name is Will McDonald and, from his one-bedroom apartment in Cleveland, the University of Iowa doctoral student, painstakingly records, on his blog, the comings and goings of each Kansas City Royals game.

For the sports world — the fans, the players, the leagues and the teams — the rise of the blogger has raised complicated questions about broadcasting rights, how to reach an audience, and where the sports fan stops and the journalist begins.

The lines have blurred so much, in fact, that the New York Islanders plan to give bloggers their own box next season. So much that the NCAA escorted a reporter out of the press box two weeks ago for blogging a live baseball game. So blurred that sports teams are holding meetings about how to handle the rise of the blogger, and no one seems to know what comes next.

I could be wrong, but I think the Islanders are on the right track.

YouTube on AppleTV

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I downloaded the YouTube update to AppleTV last night and watched some videos on the big (bigger) screen. Stupid videos are still stupid. Shitty quality videos still look shitty. And the good ones look pretty darned good. Watching “Internet video” on the big screen in the living room takes a little getting used to.

I had the sense that I was getting a peek at the future. Thousands of videos, downloaded from the Internet to my little AppleTV box. No idea what the business model will look like but this is disruptive technology. If I was the guy responsible for “scheduling” programs on a “TV network,” I’d be nervous.

You’ll find a real review at engadget.

YouTube is now live on Apple TV

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"Apple today announced that YouTube is now live on Apple TV.
Users can download the free software update using Apple TV’s built-in
software update feature, and then navigate through YouTube’s familiar
video browsing categories or search for specific videos. YouTube
members can also log-in to their YouTube accounts on Apple TV to view
and save their favorite videos." [Podcasting News]

Haven’t tried this yet, but I will. Stay tuned. Related story.

“Do you know who I am?”

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The woman smiled, waiting patiently. My mind is frantically processing data, running through thousands of images and names. I bullshit for time…

"Hey, I almost didn’t recognize you! Man, how long has it been?"

But people can always tell.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?"

(Click!)

"Debbie! Debbie Elting!"

Debbie and I attended Southeast Missouri State University in the late 60’s. Worked on college plays together, partied together. Haven’t seen each other in 30 years. Turns out we’ve been going to the same dentist all these years. She drives down to Cape from St. Louis, I drive down from Jefferson City. The staff thought it would be nice to arrange a surprise reunion and scheduled our check-up’s on the same day.

The next time a woman I don’t recognize asks, "Do you know who I am?, I’m going to say –without hesitation– "You’re Jennifer Anniston. What are you doing here?"