Sippey: [...] imagine similar functionality on the iPod: when you sync your catalog with iTunes, the device uses iSync to fetch new content to insert into the iPod UI: headline news, sports scores, weather reports...as well as promotional content for the Music store, quick surveys, email program opt-ins, third party ads, etc. Give the user the ability to opt out of the marketing content, of course, but provide micro-incentives like Amazon.com's nickel-incentive trivia program towards song purchases at the Music Store [...]
Kottke: [...] the suggestion of it makes me want to hop on a plane to SF and strangle the responsible party. I see ads when I pee. I pay to watch ads at the movie theatre. Most television programming is filler for advertising (which explains why most of TV sucks). Many magazines are mostly advertising. MTV is 100% advertising. The Post-It Notes on my desk are from Barclay's Capital. Clothing without prominent advertising printed on it is getting difficult to find. I am marketed to and advertised to everywhere I go. [...]
Jason's got a point. Nothing is sacred anymore. Maybe never was. But truth is we are advertised and marketed to in every corner of what are supposed to our private lives. Hell, I can't even take a piss in peace at my favorite sushi bar because there's some LDC screen touting the latest trendy alcoholic beverage or cat food -- I just couldn't tell the video quality was so poor and the audio unbelievably muffled. To be fair, the logo was recognizable. It was alcohol.
I think there's merit in Sippey's ideas. And as Jason notes, it's likely inevitable. But I think then it's up to the advertiser or even the media "owner" to try or dictate a standard of advertising or messaging that is creative, unobtrusive but yet offers value and return on investment for that advertisers. A tall order, I know. If not, you can bet that once again our personal lives will be hijacked by advertising and we will be left with empty and sacred-free souls.
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Hallelujah! According to this story that broke in the New York Times today, Admiral John M. Poindexter is resigning his post as Director of the Pentagon's Information Awareness Office. This man has been a menace to the Bush Administration since his appointment las February. Just another old salt who should lay down and whither away. We'll see.
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It's raining in Newport Beach. It's July. According to my best calculations, summer started about 2 weeks ago after a miserable spring and horribly gloomy May and June.
At the car wash the other day a gentlemen was ranting about how our weather (read lack of summer and gray skies) is going to last for 20 years. Twenty years. "I'm not sticking around." He looked over at my convertible as the laborers dried and polished the shiny red pain. "Nice care." I nodded and explained I'd owned since high-school. "Twenty years," he repeated. "Car like that deserves sunshine."
HE continued to ramble about weather patterns and a program he saw that led him to believe Southern California's sunshine hey days are behind. I laughed and prophesied that Seattle's recourse was coming. That is, Southern California and Seattle's weather gets flipped. For twenty years. We get the grey and rainy skies. They get the sunshine.
Payback is a bitch, so they say. Sitting here in my office listening to the rain and watching it fall -- rather pour -- from the sky. This is highly unusual. But it's cool.
Still I wonder. What happened to summer?
Looking For The Summer
Look deep into the April face
A change is clearly taking place
Looking for the summer
The eyes take on a certain gaze
And leave behind the springtime days
Go looking for the summer
This ain't no game of kiss and tell
The implications how you knew so well
Go looking for the summer
The time has come and they must go
To play the passion out that haunts you so
Looking for the summer
Remember love how it was the same
We scratched and hurt each other's growing pains
We were looking for the summer
And still I stand this very day
With a burning wish to fly away
I'm still looking, looking for the summer - Chris Rea -
Microsoft is considering selling music online through it's Windows Media Player application.
Immitation & Flattery. Imitation is, after all, the best form of flattery. Or so the adage goes. Two other adages I hold closer to my heart are
The only things you regret in life are those that you don't do; rarely what you do.
Higher risk. Higher potential for reward.
So when I stumbled onto the new item "Microsoft considering music store", on c|net News.com last week I had shake my head a bit then poke myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I'm awake. And it's another case of deja vu. Seems Microsoft is considering developing an online music store (ala Apple's iTunes Music Store) and integrating it into Microsoft products.
[...] Gates indicated that any music store project would be more a matter of providing computer users with added convenience--and presumably, keeping people using Microsoft software--rather than a direct moneymaker. "It's maybe a feature your platform should offer, but it's not like you're going to make some (big) markup," Gates said. [...]
Of course, this could spell doom or boom for Apple's service. Just last week so ago Scott Blum (of Buy.com fame) announced and openedBuyMusic, a windows-only online music store. Validation of concept or market is a good thing. Competition is good for markets and customers. No question. But it's like the 10 year old boys teetering at the end of a tree branch 25 feel above the lake. Shivering and nervous no one wants to take the first leap. The brave soul who finally takes the plunge does more for his friends than simply experiencing the thrill of the jump and the notoriety of being first. He shows how to do it. And that it's going to be alright.
Digital entertainment delivered through the internet via any number of boxes, including computers, is the future. We've all known this for sometime. Question has always been: when? So if Microsoft thinks it's time to jump. So be it. I just wish once in a while these guys would jump first. For the sake of their customers. And for the sake of innovation.
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What's it about tires. Rubber. Must be like the flu I'm still be battling. I haven't had the flu in what must be 5 years. Sure. I've had a few colds. But this thing hit me hard.
That was just after my first auto incident. I didn't blog about it because it didn't seem interesting to me. THe Digital Tavern is NOT some kinda diary or journal site where I jot my daily trips to the grocer, lunch or dinner with friends. I try to keep it interesting. Blending the best I can offer from my years of marketing and advertising experience, insight, tips and discussion on technology and particularly Apple and its OS X operating system. Then there's the stuff about music. And while I know it's always nice to have a cold beer in the Tavern, more times than not you and me just might prefer a glass or share a bottle of fine wine. And certainly there are a number of creative pursuits including writing or blogging in general.
So I don't expect you to care about the fact that In less than a weeks time I've had two flat tires. Perhaps not a big deal, albeit a bit unusual. However when stacked back to back like this and without the opportunity to replace the spare I had to use when I changed the first flat tire in the sweltering 90 degree heat. Particularly when dressed in fairly nice clothes en route to an evening outing with friends. These things under normal circumstances might make for an angry or disappointed person. Even resentful. Of course, for no reason.
But I haven't had a flat tire since Spring of 1997.
These things make for minor hiccups in one's life. But they are an inconvenience. Not to dwelled about. Probably not even worth blogging about. But in one week two flat tires and a major slam of the flue? Is someone trying to send me a message here?
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"I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
To make you feel my love" - Make You Feel My Love
Just saw Bob Dylan perform tonight. By the energy of tonight's show, I'd have to say that Bobby pulls out all the stops to show his love for his audience. He loves to play.
On the latest last stop of his never ending tour Bob Dylan stomped into the newly re-opened Pacific Amphitheater -- a mere and thinly disguised venue in a remote corner on the grounds of the Orange County Fair. Where else can you pay $75 face value to see a county or state fair 'has-been artist'. Later this week? See Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music) for just under $100. Only in Orange County. At the fair.
But Bob Dylan is far from "has been". His 1997 Time Out of Mind swept the Grammies and his songs have been featured on a number of television shows and movies including The Sopranos and his "Things Have Changed" featured in the Michael Douglas film Wonder Boys garnered an Academy Award for best original song. On Friday "Masked and Anonymous" his attempt at screenwriting and acting opened in New York and Los Angeles to mixed reviews.
But tonight Bob Dylan rocked. From a heart wrenching "It Ain't Me Babe" to a rockabilly crowd pleasing dance number "Summer Days Bobby D proved once again what a tight band and years of touring experience deliver: a show that connects with the crowd and the resulting artist/audience synergy rarely achieved with today's pre-packaged and homogeonized acts. Those like Dave Mathews who just the night before delivered a lackluster and poor performance at the new Home Depot Center in LA just north of Orange County.
I got to share the experience with my buddy QMan, who happened to be in town and was motivated to check out his 15th Dylan "eventuality," QMan is the quintessential Dylan fan. As my guest blogger here's his take on tonights show:
I rate tonights Dylan concert based upon my past Dylan experiences a "B". Bobby brought us up, but he didn't take us over the hump which I have had the pleasure to know. The last time I saw him do the hump he rocked. Tonight he simply teeter tottered us. He'd bring us up. Then he'd bring us down. It was a good solid performance. The sound was excellent. His vocals were above average and he seemed to be in a chipper mood. I will say it the first time I'd ever seen him strut the stage sans instrument flailing his hands in an awkward and uncomfortable to watch way. By the same token, I understand Bob's shy nature and feeling lost without something to do. On top of all that, it's the first time I've seen him perform an entire concert without touching a guitar. He was quite content leading his band by pounding the keyboards all night. I'm always hesitant to choose a favorite song from any performance because it would be like trying to pick out your favorite bite of a delicious steak. But pressed, my favorite song of the evening had to be the big crowd pleaser, Summer Days. --Qman, July 27, 2003
"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke." -- All Along The Watchtower
QMan and I discussed the latest controversy surrounding Dylan where it is believed he "lifted" lyrics from a book by Dr. Junichi Saga, the physician and writer from Japan. We both agreed that the songs Dylan apparently ripped off would have been just as good without the lifted lines. Dylan has been quiet and to date hasn't commented on the accusations which I discovered when in Washington DC at Supernova in an article that appeared on the front page of The Wall Street Journal on July 8th.
Another thing. Not a wireless intrument or microphone on the stage. Pure plugged-in rock and roll with a mix of folk, blues and country rockabillty thrown in.
"Everyone has been ripping off Bob Dylan for the last 40 years. Give the guy some slack." QMan, July 28, 2003 while looking for and finding The Giant Western Sausage at The Orange County Fair.
I've been trying to get as far away from myself as I can -- Things Have Changed
For the last 29 years Bob has relentlessly been crisscrossing the continent and the globe on what is affectionally referred to as his "never ending tour." Whether he's on the road trying to get far away or simply closer to his audience, one thing is for sure, Bob Dylan is a legend. Love him. Or hate him. You simply can't ignore him, nor his influence on music and culture.
Damnit. And I just love the dude. Great show Bob. Thanks.
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Just discovered this at Brent Simmon's This is exactly what I was talking about when I called for corporate marketing departments to embrace weblog technologies. Keywords here are "weblog technologies". RSS's heritage is weblogs. And Amazon's adoption and trial using RSS is something to watch.
[...] Amazon.com is now generating RSS: “Selected categories, subcategories and search results in Amazon.com stores now have RSS feeds associated with them, delivering a headline-view of the top 10 bestsellers in that category or set of search results.” (Via Ben Hammersley.)
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Ever notice how the media and medical mavens describe symptoms of new diseases that have evaded the control of modern medicine? Things likeSARs, West Nile Virus, Monkey whatever, even AIDs? Victims describe feeling Flu Like Symptoms. Makes a guy wonder when he wakes up on a sunny summer July morning with a sore throat, aches and pains all over, foggy head. This is summer. And I feel like shit. Pounding vitamin C, echinacea, water and rest.
Unless you've been sleeping, away from email or wandering the Nazca Plain aimlessly you've probably come across the classic Honda television commercial titled "Cog". You can see all of it in its full 120 seconds of synchronistic glory here or here.
This ad has been slashdotted, metafiltered, blogged about and certainly attained legendary status by the indisputable power of viral marketing through forwarded emails throughout the internet and blogosphere. And all of this happened several months ago after the ad first aired on UK television in April and Australia in May.
So why am I blogging about it now?
Simple. I still get links to it forwarded to me by friends, associates and acquaintances who are just discovering it for the first time. Most recently my friend and PR guru, Teri, forwarded me a piece that was written in Business 2.0 written by John Battelle. After reading it I gave in to my personal resistance and reluctance to blog about something that is so pervasive -- or common.
But who am I kidding.
Just happy trying to relish the role as advertising cognoscenti? Ahhh. Forget it. Let's chat about this ad and Battelle's article that explores the advertisement (that's truly what it is) as film -- or even art. But perhaps just worse, is "content". Battelle writes:
[...] With a plink and a plunk and 86 moving parts, Honda reminds the ad world of the value of great content -- and teaches it something about the power of interactivity. [...]
To be fair, I'm in agreement with Battelle's primary point which is that advertising doesn't have to hit you over the head with a two-by-four and slam you with product features and benefits to be effective. And Kudos to the creative team at Wieden & Kennedy responsible for concepting and executing the two minutes of pure Rube Goldbergian wonder that seduces audiences to watch, watch again and share in amazement the beauty of cause and effect when "things just work." I'm not sure what they call their two minutes of fame. But to be sure, they created something just short of an advertising masterpiece.
But call it content?
Calling creative work -- whether writing, pictures, media, sculpture, poetry, paintings etc -- content is as bad as calling your customersconsumers(for you Doc). We don't produce content. We work. We create. And We communicate. But our work isn't just a blob of content designed to fill an empty space or gap.
The Honda commercial is brilliant. Entertainment that is NOT cleverly disguised as editorial -- or content. It utilizes the most powerful notion that forms the foundation for excellent and effective advertising -- simplicity. And it leverages perhaps the second most powerful technique for effective advertising -- association. In Honda's case, the amazing Goldbergian joyride associates the Honda Accord with "things that just work." Of course, it took over 600 takes and three months to create the spot. And they did get it to work.
Another claim that Battelle states in his subhead (above) is that this ad or Honda's use of it "teaches something about the power of interactivity". Once again he misses the point. There's nothing interactive about this ad. But Battelle confuses the viral effect of this ad as "interactive". Sorry. Not the case. This is simply old fashion "word of mouth" advertising. Except today our words spread over social networks like blogs and email as well as water coolers and cocktail parties.
Another thing that perhaps isn't as well known as the ad itself, is Honda used the ad as an experiment with interactive television. Honda ran the ad on BskyB's interactive television system in England. But the only thing interactive about it was a text overly that offered a free DVD or brochure by simply clicking the proper colored button on the iTV remote control. What's great is Honda extended the commercial as entertainment concept by producing the DVD. The DVD certainly features the film, but also includes "the making of" interviews and other information about the car. Great integration.
What Honda should be congratulated for is taking a risk. A risk to innovate. And they innovated on a number of fronts:
They shot a 2 minute spot in an era where some advertisers think 30 seconds is too long
The product only appears on screen for just a few seconds.
They made the ad available freely without registration, water marking or other copy protection or copyright legal jargon.
They integrated online, offline, direct marketing and more
The result is a film (advertisement/commercial) that people talk about, share and enjoy. The film is extended through a microsite on the Honda UK webpage where it can be downloaded. And a DVD or brochure is made available through interactive television experiment. And All of this is good for the Honda brand.
[ please note that don't and never have owned a Honda automobile and have never performed professional services for Honda or any of its subsidiaries. ]
You gotta love Howard Dean. At least his marketing (campaign) team. This guy has leveraged Blogs much like Clinton leveraged the internet during his campaigns. But Dean's different. And while formidable potential presidential candidates may not find it hard to harness ink - offline and online - Dean is differentiating himself through weblogs and social networking via the internet.
In the Boston Globe today Joanna Weiss buys into the hype and turns out yet another article on blogs, politics and the future of campaign marketing. But like much of the ink I've endured on the subject, Weiss turns out yet another overstuffed and bloated headline, 'Blogs' shake the political discourse'.
[...] the most fervent blog proponents have been talking like apostles. Blogs, they predict, are harbingers of a new, interactive culture that will change the way democracy works, turning voters into active participants rather than passive consumers, limiting the traditional media's role as gatekeeper, and giving the rank-and-file voter unparalleled influence [...]
For me I'm not buying into any candidate. Now. Or the near future. But as a marketing enthusiast and practitioner I can't help buy watch with eager and jaded eyes as politicians or doctor's posing as such leverage an exciting new tool that every day slips into the mainstream and teeters on the brink of ubiquity. Still hammering out ideas on the next corporate business blog piece. Till then enjoy the politicking. It's starting to get fun.
[...] bloggers are reveling in their new entry point into the campaign process. And to some of them, the older tools of politicking already feel extraneous -- or mildly out-of-date [...] "I don't have a Dean bumper sticker yet," said Donefer, [a] 21-year-old blogger. "This is much better"[...]
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I know you're wondering. What's Allan writing about now? Thinkers and marketers. You probably can get your head around that. But Red Wine? Sure, the cat's been out of the bag that I'm a passionate taster and collector of fine wines and that I'll do most anything to weave a wine story into a blog post. Fair?
But there's more. To be sure, marketing continues to evolve. Contrary to the thoughts of many of my marketing brethren, I don't believe there's a marketing revolution ready to erupt. That is, in terms of social software, networks, emergence etc. Instead, I see that it's simply a marketing evolution. Not that it's any less important, I think it's important to be understated, rather than hyper when discussing such things -- a statement or testament to where marketing might -- or even should -- be headed.
For example, I've been writing a somewhat regular series on corporate blogging. This in inspired in part by the popularity of blogs, the wonders of RSS and media attention. In turn, many organizations and individuals are scrambling to make sense of what some find to be trendy and others find as a trend to watch. No matter what, fact is blogs are here to stay. Question is, will they always be called blogs? As marketing evolves, blogs will too.
As a sidebar, Rick Bruner is attempting to keep a running list of business or corporate blogs. You can view the current lineup here.
And like a good red wine, I find the best to be appreciated at a young age where they exude youthful characteristics and are playful, fruity and while a bit immature, very cute and beautiful. As a red wine moves to adolescence it begins to show distinction, true character and color. This paves its way as it matures into a complex, rich and distinctive character. True to blogs. Like a young red wine, they're fun. They're fruity. And they're immature. At least from a marketing or business perspective. And to some extent a personal or "conversational" perspective.
As for thinkers. There are so many great thinkers on the web. I've had the pleasure of communicating with some innovative and curious thinkers. And I look forward to hearing from more. If you haven't checked out these recently, take a peak. Because blogging as marketing and business process is evolving:
I stumbled upon this article about farmers trying to stimulate Oklahoma tourism and to leverage its farming heritage. But wine? That's going to be a hard sell.
[...] compared the forming of a cooperative of wine growers to the Value Added Products closed cooperative in Alva (Oklahoma) which has helped add value to wheat growers' products by making frozen pizza dough. [...]
Now there's an analogy.
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Great follow up article in today's Washington Post about Howard Dean's Internet Candidacy and his role as guest blogger on Larry Lessig's blog
[...]"The Internet might soon be the last place where open dialogue occurs," he wrote, using the occasion to bash the Federal Communications Commission's recent decision to allow media companies to own more outlets. [...]
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Did you see this article in today's New York Times? The title alone will raise the hair on your back; that is if there's any left after the burning siege of anger singes those tiny follicles. "Led by Intel, True Believers in Wi-Fi Say It Will Endure". Fact is, Intel had been bucking the open Wi-Fi standard in favor of its own primarily proprietary ill-fated Home RF technology. But someone woke up.
Ok. So NOW Intel believes in the Wireless future. Ok, then who and where are the nay sayers? To be fair, the article does a good job pointing out that Intel made a grave mistake. It just doesn't go far enough.
[...] The new Intel bet is remarkable given that the company initially backed the wrong wireless standard, putting its resources behind a competing standard known as Home RF [...] But Intel, [...] realized the power and potential pervasiveness of the unregulated Wi-Fi wireless networking standard, technically know as the 802.11 standard. [...]
Of course, if you followed and bought into the press on Intel's "innovative" Centrino several months back you'd be hook, line and sinker believing that Intel invented Wi-Fi -- aka: 802.11(b) or 802.11(g). Little does anyone care or even does it matter that Apple was the first computer company to make Wi-Fi a standard option and even built-in on its computers. Thankfully an Intel exec came clean in an interview with the Times:
[...] The Wi-Fi standard was developed and commercialized at Apple Computer as early as 1999. Ultimately, though, it gained widespread popularity on its own, Mr. Barrett acknowledged in an interview here, as a grass-roots, from-the-bottom-up movement[...]
But that's not he point here. I mean does the future of Wi-Fi have anything to do with Intel or any grass roots movement? I would have to say the answer would be as much as Pets.com and its sock-puppet pokes-thing had anything to do with selling pet food or any other food over the internet. And a grass roots movement? What's he thinking? Grass roots inasmuch as the popularity of fossil fuel over the last 50 years is the result of a grass roots movement. Geeez.
[...] In the three months since Intel introduced its wireless PC chips, the company has come to dominate the Wi-Fi market. It is now putting Wi-Fi circuitry in all of its chip sets for portable computers, investing widely in Wi-Fi industry start-ups and spending almost its entire annual marketing budget in a $300 million advertising campaign trumpeting the virtues of its unwired Centrino brand. [...]
Sure, last week while I was sitting listening to former FCC commissioner Reed Hundt compare the broadband evolution necessary to rollout high-speed access to the common communities and people to a bygone era in US History when the national highway system was built the contractors were all lobbying to extoll the benefits of concrete and asphalt. Which will better suit the need of customers? Asphalt or concrete. At the end of the day, and according to Hundt, 50% of the country highway system is asphalt while the other is concrete.
Now that was an interesting and politically correct compromise. Or, were there just not enough special interest dollars to push for a true government-proposed or backed standard? Intel has its plans though. Working with a small Israeli company it plans to adopt a rival Wi-Fi standard known as 802.16. Additionally, it plans on getting into the service/access business. Or at least that's what I read into the following:
[...] Intel plans to start a test in Texas [...] that will use a combination of wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi, to bring broadband Internet connections directly to homes [...] (Intel will) back a free wireless standard, 802.16, that is intended to send data over distances of as much as 30 miles and at speeds of up to 70 megabits a second [...] high enough to comfortably stream (HDTV) [...] the range makes it possible to quickly deploy a system in a large urban or suburban area [...] current Wi-Fi technology is limited to several hundred feet and speeds of 11 megabits a second. The Intel test, however, will explore using the 802.16 standard, known as WiMax, to distribute the data to Wi-Fi antennas in local neighborhoods. [...]
What will be the primary road for broadband? Fiber? Wi-Fi, satellite? And what about the last mile? Twisted pair (affectionally referred to by Clay Shirkey as the dumbell internet)? To be fair, I'm happy that Intel is focused on a wirelesss strategy. And sure, more computers have Intel processors than perhaps any other. And this contribution and its relentless advertising and PR plan will contribute to the inevitable ubiquity of wireless -- Wi-Fi or otherwise.
[...] "Intel has raised the level of the water and is floating all the boats," said Glenn Fleishman, editor of Wi-Fi Networking News, a Web-based daily newsletter. [...]
So as I post this article to The Digital Tavern on my Wi-Fi equipped Apple PowerBook sitting in my back yard while streaming my iTunes playlist from the G4 Cube MP3 server to my local iTunes on the PowerBook while watching the butterflies frolic and play and hummingbirds compete for the nectar of the floral fruits in the garden. Ahhh. The Wireless Future. Just wondering how many neighbors are "drafting" on the speed of my Wi-Fi connection. Ahh. It just doesn't matter.
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Sitting on a Delta flight somewhere over Arizona or Utah is my guess. No issues getting out of DC this morning. Nice to have the extra evening. My brother John and I pulled a couple corks on some great wine while he tended the grill with some awesome steaks.
1999 San Giusto Recolma, Tuscany
1995 Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
The wines were phenomenal. Both of them. Though at first the Plumpjack scared us. It had sat out a couple days outside the cool temperature of Jon's cellar. We decanted it and stuck it in the fridge. Half an hour later and after indulging the Recolma we feasted on the tasty Plumpjack - made by Nils Venge of Groth and Saddleback Cellars fame.
Staying the extra night. It was the right thing. And it was thing I wanted to do. So when I say the following post on Dan Shafer's blog while reviewing my RSS feeds here on the plane I had to repost and quote what is a great philosophy and one I'm committed to in my personal and professional endeavors and pastimes.
[...] In 1960, a researcher interviewed 1500 business-school students and classified
them in two categories: those who were in it for the money 1245 of them
[^] and those who were going to use the degree to do something they cared
deeply about [^] the other 255 people. Twenty years later, the researcher
checked on the graduates and found that 101 of them were millionaires [^] and
all but one of those millionaires came from the 255 people who had pursued what they loved to do!
(From The other 90% by Robert K. Cooper, Three Rivers Press 2001 [Thinking About Computing]) [...]
I know many people choose professions in the legal, medical or finance category because of the money -- not out of passion. Or in some cases it's because of expectation -- someone else's. I've always been amazed by this. I say pursue your passion. Whether the money follows or not, it's best to be happy, smiling and rewarded. And to a new friend I met this week, I send this post and message and hope it strikes a chord.
Photo: nieces and friends sharing wagon ride to Atlantic Ocean beach in Southern New Jersey (l to r) Caitlin, Samantha, Emily (niece #1), Alexandra and Anna (niece #2).
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Thunder and lightening. The way the east coast moves is frightening. Oh. Not really. My flight back to Orange County was delayed which means I'd miss my connecting flight. So I figured I'd spend another night with brother Jon and family. Great time. Though a bit hot and humid here. Not that I want to complain. And the gray skies and cool rain earlier today sure made for a needed cool off period. But as I sit writing late night the lightening and thunder are bright and loud. Lots to ponder after attending and subsequently digesting info from SuperNova. Also, much on the corporate/business blogging front. So I'll be back on the topics tomorrow and over the weekend.
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For the morning sessions (Tuesday), I noted and blogged extensively. The afternoon presented a number of challenges including a lot of activity on Chiki (Wiki Chat), Hydra, IRC and run of the mill blogging. I've moved yesterday notes to the Marketing & Messages category of the Digital Tavern. Read them here.
I'll resume notes and commentary tomorrow morning.
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Catching up and increasing my news dosage after a well deserved time off with family, I just ran into Leander Kahney's article in today's Wired titled "Last.fm - Music To Listeners Ears." For regular readers of the Digital Tavern, it's no secret that I've been blasting the homogenization and sad state of radio today. Perhaps unfairly, but I've been particularly harsh on ClearChannel:
That aside, I do believe ClearChannel is not alone, but it's perhaps the single largest contributor to the decline of good radio and therefore limiting our music choices.
Kahney discusses British-based internet radio service Last.fm, and its use of collaborative filtering technology in order to tailor music streamed to listeners based on personal preferences and listening history and compares this to other listeners to its streams. This is not unlike Amazon's personal recommendations or TiVO's auto-record feature.
[...] If there's a high degree of overlap between what you and others like, it's a good bet you will like something they recommend because you have similar tastes [...] Here's how it works for Last.fm: Users can either fill out a profile or just begin listening. If a song plays to the end, the system logs this as a thumbs up. But if the user doesn't like a song and hits the Change button in the Last.fm player, it's marked as a thumbs down [...]
Also mentioned in Kahney's article is Clay Shirkey and the paper he authored earlier this year "The Music Business and the Big Flip" . In his essay Shirkey sees a new era in music publishing where artists can find new audiences and listeners can discover new music. He likens this future to what's happened with writing on the internet. Though Shirkey may avoid the word "blog" in his article, he poses the idea that internet tools like SlashDot, KiroShin, Blogdex and DayPop among others have basically eliminated the need for editors; editors in the classic sense where they filter then publish content. These new era publishers let readers and technology to publish then filter.
[...] The internet has lowered the threshold of publishing to the point where you no longer need help or permission to distribute your work. What has happened with writing may be possible with music. Like writers, most musicians who work for fame and fortune get neither, but unlike writers, the internet has not offered wide distribution to people making music for the love of the thing. A system that offered musicians a chance at finding an audience outside the professional system would appeal to at least some of them [...]
Shirkey is quick to point out there are holes in his analogy but he still sees the glass half full here.
[...] There are obvious differences here, of course, as music is unlike writing in several important ways. Writing tools are free or cheap, while analog and digital instruments can be expensive, and writing can be done solo, while music-making is usually done by a group, making coordination much more complex. Furthermore, bad music is far more painful to listen to than bad writing is to read, so the difference between amateur and professional music may be far more extreme. [...]
But for all those limits, change may yet come. Unlike an article or essay, people will listen to a song they like over and over again, meaning that even a small amount of high-quality music that found its way from artist to public without passing through an A&R department could create a significant change. This would not upend the professional music industry so much as alter its ecosystem, in the same way newspapers now publish in an environment filled with amateur writing. [...]
Last.fm is not exactly what Shirkey sees here, nor what I would like to see evolve on internet radio. There have been attempts at creating a users or "peoples' choice" system of unleashing and recognizing new artists. MP3.com and Garageband.com come to mind. Though MP3.com has a user experience that is convoluted and difficult for new users, though to its credit it has attracted quite a loyal following. Garageband, on the other hand, has had its degree of success but investors have pulled out, technology limitations and lack of publicity have hindered its widespread acceptance. However, I do believe that a decentralized potpourri of Garageband, iTunes Music Store and MP3.com would provide an environment that's not unlike the world of "professional" journalism and blogs. Perhaps the key missing element would be an RSS-type of distribution feed or stream that would be technology independent and provide for an easy manner to find, listen and provide input/comment on music and artists.
This week I'm in Washington DC attending SuperNova. Ironically enough, Clay Shirkey is scheduled to be in attendance and speaking. Shirkey among other thinkers, writers, business leaders, technologists and opinion makers participating in this conference can be influencers in "what's next?" I'll report more on the conference and conversations later this week.
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Sunday, July 6, 2003
Glorious and relaxing Fourth of July here in South Jersey. Can't believe this is New Jersey. The southern Coast of New Jersey is new to me. Growing up on the East Coast in Connecticut my beach memories are Long Island Sound, boat trips to Block Island and other family trips to Martha's Vineyard, Maine and that's about it.
My hosts, Mark and Betty were truly amazing. In there beach house housing about 14 adults who traveled from California, Pennsylvania, Manhattan and Virginia to what has become an annual vacation pilgrimage. On arriving in this spectacular beach house we found the door unlocked for our arrival because everyone was enjoying they sun, waves and beers on the beach. I had wondered about internet access. But my curiosity was quelled when I spotted an Airport Extreme sitting next tot he cable box in the entertainment center. As it turns out Mark was quite the Mac fan and totally into photography. He even has the latest Canon digital SLR, the 10 DS. I've had my eyes on one of these for the last two months since its release. I had the opportunity to play with it and confirm my wanton desire to add this to my digital and electronic gadget arsenal.
Another visitor, Phil, turned out to be a great chef and a fellow Canon S400 owner. The fireworks shots you see on this page were shot with the S400 from the Deck of Mark & Betty's.
We're packing and readying our trip south to Washington DC. Two days till Supernova. Monday night kick off in Old Town Alexandria for the Joi Ito party.
Splendid time playing with my nieces in the surf and on the beach. Relinking with old friends and making new. So cool.
Supernova is next. Stay tuned.
Photo: Shot by Phil on July 4, 2003 in Avalon, New Jersey. Canon S400 handheld from deck of beach house.
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Thursday, July 3, 2003
I sit on a Delta Airlines flight that I connected with from Orange County in Salt Lake City. Flying over the salt flats of Utah and the barren desert below, Delta is showing an extended version of a new television commercial that celebrates the "men and women of our armed forced that served our country in the recent conflict in Iraq." It is shown on Delta flights in celebration of Independence Day. Many Delta employees are featured in the film and who served in Iraq. It made me think that here Delta has a captive audience and in a very short and simple spot using dynamic footage of our troops in action. When announced I thought another self-serving puffy piece of propaganda. While it wasn't far from that, it was produced well with an adequate soundtrack, effective editing and simple message. Just not sure what the point is here. While I'm sure the budget was tight on such a production, I would have liked to seen Delta put a little more effort and instead of producing a "television" spot, it produced a short story or vignette. Something that tied the human element -- the point that its employees were involved -- so to engage the viewer. Rather, Delta opted for the rah-rah footage of paratroopers jumping out of planes, fighter jets screaming off aircraft carriers and ground troops traversing the tough Iraqi terrain. All in a nice to watch short not unlike a music video. The message diluted and washed out - if there was one. Oh well. Another missed opportunity.
Now they're showing a preview of the film to be shown -- It's Steve Martin in Bringing Down The House. I have no idea what this film is about and as I sit here comfortably with my Sennheiser Noise-Canceling headphones listening to Al Stewart on my iPod the thing that catches my eye are several shots of Steve Martin using an Apple Titanium G4 PowerBook. Great product placement with the big glowing light of the Apple logo on a field of shiny high-tech titanium.
Back to finishing my book. I'll pass on the movie. Looks like the lunch cart coming down the aisle.
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Whew. It took a while. But I've converted perhaps 95% of my entire CD collection (somewhere over 1,200 CDs) to digital format. And while the TiVO system doesn't yet support the AAC codec, I learned today that I can hook my Cube (which is now relegated to work as my Digital Audio/Music Jukebox) to an M-Audio Interface that provides an optical digital audio output that will connect to an optical input on my A/V Amplifier.
Music Update: 12,792 songs; 38 days and 13 hours of nonstop and non repeated play; 73.92 GB
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I catch an early flight on Thursday morning from John Wayne Airport to Ronald Reagan International in Washington DC. Gee. Flying from one macho Hollywood star namesake to another. What ever happened to the Jimmy Stewart airport anyway.
Looking forward to spending time with family and especially my two nieces Emily and Anna. After some well deserved time in Avalon, NJ and Washington, DC I'll be connecting with many fellow bloggers and "what's next" leading thinkers from software, technology, telecom, government and others at Keven Werbach'sSuperNova Conference. Doc notes that there are three conferences concurrently collide and all discuss and explore next-generation "thinking".
Doc on SuperNova: [...] Decentralization is THE theme for our times. It's what the Net and the Web were about in the first place. It's what Cluetrain was about. It's what the successes of Net-roots movements like MeetUp, MoveOn, DigitalConsumer.org, AOTC, Warblogging, Peaceblogging and the Howard Dean campaign are all about. It's what blogging was about, too. I say was because I'm concerned right now that blogging risks centralization. A year from now, don't be surprised if everyone with an AOL, an MSN or a .Mac account automatically has a blog, and if those blogs use non compatible means to interoperate with each other. Just like we've seen with instant messaging since the beginning. [...] And don't think that other companies with an interest in blogs, such as Google and IBM, won't find their own ways to defeat interoperation for both competitive and idealistic reasons, no matter how well-intended they may be. They want to make better blogging tools, sell better blogging back-end systems, better ways to put advertising on blogs and better ways to do other stuff. But better isn't always best. Often (though not always) the better imperative includes protocols, formats and standards that get bettered all the way to isolation and well-rationalized non-interoperability. So, instead of an open market with lots of interop, you got a bunch of isolated silos. It's not a long trip, and it's often travelled unconsciously. [...]
I'm excited about SuperNova on multiple levels. First, I'll be sharing the same room discussing fascinating futurist topics with some incredibly smart people. Second, I'll get to finally meet many of these people I've collaborated with, joined in blog discussions with and even participated with when providing input and brainstorming with Joi on his Emergent Democracy paper -- now available in multiple languages. Finally, I'm working on developing and participating in a network of business, marketing and communication strategists to explore further how to leverage decentralized themes and technologies to improve and enhance communications at the corporate or business unit level.
photo: From Statue Park, a graveyard of Soviet Era sculpture, statues and propaganda on the outskirts of Budapest, Hungary. Shot in June 2002. This is an absolutely horrible example of propaganda depicting socialist thinkers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
Discovered Today:Dave Pollard | Cheyenne | Alex(ok, so I didn't discover him today, but damn I rediscovered him today)
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Have you been following the discussion? I mean if you think blogging is simply the outlet for the frustrated political journalist, unsung critics of art, sport, media, literature and life or sexually frustrated adolescents then pass this post and dig in deep and take an egocentric and self-indulgent stomach turning ride through the blogosphere. Alternatively, if you believe that beyond the ranting, raving and running amok of writers extrodinaire where good writing exhibits solid thinking which in turn yields more effective and enhanced communications - then let's go on a different ride.
But it was here that I had the most fun while basking in aura of pain relief meds sorely needed after a zealot Doctor had his way with remnants of my prehistoric past -- my wisdom teeth.
[...] Actually rather than thinking extraction alone we should think orthodontistry, more art for a smile than techniques to cure infection and disease. Then there's the odd piece of bridgework required, perhaps a few implants and bingo even corporates will blog with pearly whites. Then P&G or Colgate will produce some new fangled brightener while OralB puts some bent bristle brushes into action. That could confuse things unless the correct blogging technique is maintained. [...]
Stuart Henshall plays the oral hygiene analogy to a perfect tee.
[...] Still most corporates will be required to lose their "wisdom" teeth. It's affecting their bite and they're leaving no room for growth. The sooner blogging becomes daily the more rapidly plaque and gum disease will come under control --- not to mention the dreaded halitosis. There's a stench when corporate communications fail to be transparent. They are not compelling when they lose their smile and character. Yep we need engineering. Full plates are not in vogue. Toothy tattoos may be in. Possibly every org needs new blogging hygienists and dental technicians. Yet it's not only hygiene that blogpaste is working on. [...]
While Stuart may have his tongue firmly planted in cheek, his points are well taken at this end. I'm excited about his concept of Collaborative Live Brand Communities. And as we both have noted earlier, these can start from within the organization. And while opportunists or ignorants might attempt to turn a blog into a hollow, shallow and sterile marketing tool, truth is they'll be transparent and will fail. But those who understand, or at least have a will to understand and learn will find how blogging, in whatever form, will lead to healthier communications will ultimately leads to better relationships -- relationships with customers, employees, partners, shareholders and the traditional media as well as with others in the blogosphere.
If you haven't read the BlogPaste post from Stuart, jump over there now. You'll find Stuart's top of mind core categories that would enable teams to begin internally blogging. These include Daily Updates, Team Briefs, Key Projects, Measures/Expectations and a Dashboard to integrate all of this together.
I'd like to enable the entire organization, beyond specific teams, to communicate. This could be done under the guise of Human Resources. A community blog that would allow teams, departments or business unit members to post feedback to any number of categories including customer service, facilities, marketing, manufacturing, sales, distribution, shipping/receiving, accounting etc. Ideas would be shared and overall company performance could be increased. Sure there are pros and cons to such a system. Point is, someone needs to start -- to lead. And these discussions I hope will instill enough curiosity in the innovator among us to jump in and take a stab at creating the blogging organization.
While Doc is getting tired of blogging about blogging and is having a bit of oral hygiene issue with the bad taste in his mouth from those who feel that blogging is simply about marketing. I'd have to ask Doc not to let those who do bother him. That's giving them too much power. They're doomed for failure. The one's that succeed may be the one's to watch. Yet not everyone can sit on the sidelines. Someone has to make the first move.
As a marketing professional and ex-advertising agency principal, I do see a role for the agency. Whether PR, advertising or interactive. But roles must be clearly defined -- for the sake of clarity -- and expectations understood and managed.
In as much as Doc may find that blogging is not about marketing, it's not about the tools or the technology either. I mentioned earlier that companies can be personified by human characteristics and traits. All of do this daily -- and usually unconsciously. That's because we're most comfortable with human interaction, feelings and touch. (keep in touch, touch base, touch down, etc). Dina Mehta and Tom hit this head on:
Tom: [...] It is not about blogs, which are merely a means for the human -- as individual, or group, or polls -- to explore and discover and perhaps to gain some tenuous additional hold on what and where and who "we" have been, can be, and could arrive at being. What is interesting is not trackbacks or power curves or wiki or RSS or Harvardian Rules of Blog Anality and Stultification . Rather, what is interesting (to me at least) is what these curious mechanisms and their contents might (however unwittingly) reveal about the mind and the soul and the spirit and the body and the memory and the desire and the imagination and the languages of the beings who keep trying to understand blogs [...]
Dina: [...] Blogs aren't an end in themselves for sure, or the 'magic mantra' that redefines business. But they can, along with other tools like wikis and forums, provide a playground for companies to prototype and innovate.[...]
Dina has likened this ongoing discussion to playing. Even improvising, as in Jazz music. I invite the discussion to continue. I'm not yet bored about blogging about blogging. Because it's just now getting interesting. Drop me a line here, or enter your thoughts in the comments link just below. Check back with me and others mentioned in this post and those that I've linked to. It's also a lot of fun.
In a few days I'll be ready to head to Washington DC for the coming festive and quintessential patriotic holIday. I also look forward to attending SuperNova and meeting many of my fellow friends from the blogosphere face-to-face for the first time. If you're in the DC area or will be attending the conference or Joi Ito's party, please drop me a line s
Last.fm is not exactly what Shirkey sees here, nor what I would like to see evolve on internet radio. There have been attempts at creating a users or "peoples' choice" system of unleashing and recognizing new artists. 
Garageband, iTunes Music Store and MP3.com would provide an environment that's not unlike the world of "professional" journalism and blogs. Perhaps the key missing element would be an RSS-type of distribution feed or stream that would be technology independent and provide for an easy manner to find, listen and provide input/comment on music and artists. 
