Tag Archives: Mark Ramsey

Early web influencers

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My blog clean-up project (ongoing) reminded me of these early-web influencers (for me). Some of these folks are still around but most are no longer the “stars” they were in the early days. Link to my posts below. (Descriptions by GPT 4o)

Visionaries, Theorists, and Futurists

  • Bruce Sterling – A science fiction writer and cyberpunk pioneer who explored the social and cultural implications of digital technology.
  • Clay Shirky – An influential thinker on Internet culture, crowdsourcing, and the power of decentralized networks.
  • Douglas Coupland – Coined “Generation X” and explored the cultural impact of digital technology in novels and essays.
  • Douglas Rushkoff – A media theorist who wrote about cyberculture, the social effects of technology, and digital optimism.
  • Kevin Kelly – Founding editor of Wired and a deep thinker on how technology shapes society and the future.

Journalists and Media Analysts

  • Dan Gillmor – A pioneer in citizen journalism, advocating for the participatory nature of news in the digital era.
  • Jeff Jarvis – A media critic who has been vocal about how the Internet disrupts traditional journalism.
  • Steven Levy – A tech journalist who chronicled the history of computing and the rise of the digital age.
  • Steve Outing – An early advocate for online news, exploring how journalism adapted to the Internet.
  • Terry Heaton – A television executive who recognized the shift from traditional media to digital platforms.

Tech Pioneers and Web Innovators

  • Chris Pirillo – Founder of Lockergnome, one of the earliest online tech communities, helping people understand software and the web.
  • Dave Winer – A key figure in the development of blogging, RSS feeds, and podcasting technology.
  • David Weinberger – Co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, which framed how businesses should adapt to the Internet age.
  • Doc Searls – Another Cluetrain Manifesto author, emphasizing user empowerment and open-source principles.
  • Jakob Nielsen – The godfather of web usability, setting foundational principles for user-friendly web design.

Marketing and Culture Shapers

  • Halley Suitt – A prominent blogger and voice in the early blogosphere.
  • Hugh MacLeod – Known for his “gapingvoid” cartoons and commentary on creativity and business.
  • Mark Ramsey – A key voice in digital radio and podcasting strategy.
  • Scott Adams – Creator of Dilbert, which captured the absurdities of tech and office culture.
  • Seth Godin – A marketing guru who popularized permission-based marketing and how digital culture changes business.

Entrepreneurs and Digital Business Minds

  • Mark Cuban – Made his fortune selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo, later becoming a major figure in sports and media streaming.
  • Nikol Lohr – Less widely known, but active in early online DIY culture and communities.

Radio: There will be no more new music formats

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Mark Ramsey says the last successful new radio format was the Variety Hits format, “Jack.” I barely remember that format (now 15 years old). Mr. Ramsey says there as been no new youth-based format on the radio fail in generations… and there never will be “but because the tastes are so fractured among millennials that there is no popular thread of music that isn’t already absorbed sufficiently well by an existing format.”

I’m not sure who would care about this theory besides someone who programs a radio station. He offers some insight into who listens to which formats and why but it all seems a bit… academic to me. Like reflecting on Mayan culture.

How to hire radio talent

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Mark Ramsey is a “media strategist, researcher and trend-maker.” What we used to call a consultant. Here’s part of his answer to the question: “what qualifications should we be looking for in talent, programming, and sales that are different from today’s conventional qualifications?”

For talent, nothing else will be more important than that talent’s skill and engagement with social media and digital platforms.

Here’s some questions he’d ask before hiring:

  • How big is your personal audience, the one you have direct relationships with, as measured by social media?
  • How many Twitter followers do you have?
  • How big is your Facebook fan page, and how strong is your engagement?
  • How many Instagram followers and likes do you have?
  • How many YouTube subscribers and total views do you have?
  • Do you have a website for your own brand?
  • How big is your brand’s personal email list? How often do you send out email? What do you send?
  • What podcasts do you produce? How much listenership do they receive? How many podcast subscribers do you have?

“In other words, to what degree do you – the talent – take responsibility for building your own personal brand? And how can you demonstrate the power of that brand to me?”

I think he’s right. As I’ve watch social media grow and evolve I’ve wondered how I would have fared in this new media environment. Glad I didn’t miss the “spinning records” era.

Asking the right questions

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“…the implicit assumption is that radio’s past must be sustained into the future, and with a few tweaks here and there we can dial up our relevance […] and dial down our risk. This is equivalent to the consumer products company that asks “how can we make a new product that we can successfully sell?” – as long as that product is envisioned, made, and sold to fit with all the previous products the company has sold in the past.” — Mark Ramsey

Heavy snow knocked out power to our house yesterday so as darkness fell, I built a fire, turned on some solar LED lamps and dug out a transistor radio. I didn’t sample a lot of stations but the ones I listened too sounded… quaint?

I probably haven’t listened to a full hour of “terrestrial radio” in the last 5 years so what I heard felt strange in my ears. The phony DJ voices; snatches of Alice Cooper’s syndicated show (shudder)… but the most jarring was the lack of control over my experience. Don’t like a song? Well, tough shit, just gotta wait till it’s over and hope you like the next one better.

I’m going to take it on faith there are radio stations (somewhere) breaking new ground and reinventing themselves for the new media world in which they find themselves. If you know of one, drop a link (or just the call letters) in the comments.

“Threads of advertising-sponsored content”

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“Advertising is becoming content, not message. Or, more specifically, the message is knit into the content.  Under that scenario there is no 30-second spot per se, there are simply threads of advertising-sponsored content.

Creating “content that people choose to watch (and share)” (and listen to) is the job of every company that calls itself “media.”  This goes to the heart of radio’s revenue model because it is clearly out of step with the direction of clients and their agencies.

This is why the structure of so much of radio is outdated.  We have sellers who move spots and programmers who mix music. What we need amongst these are content creators who match consumers with clients in the presence of our brands by bringing compelling ideas to life.”

— Mark Ramsey Media