Posts Tagged ‘ Radio ’

Facebook Doesn’t Work

May 17, 2012
By
Facebook Doesn’t Work

You couldn’t have missed the big announcement from General Motors the other day that it plans to stop advertising on Facebook.  The timing was especially interesting with Facebook’s IPO around the corner, and many advertisers currently debating the effectiveness of the social network on its marketing efforts. The announcement was a déjà vu for me, because it reminded me of an encounter I had with a broadcaster very early in my career while an analyst for Frank Magid.  As we were planning a research study for a new client, I...

Read more »

In The Hood(ie)

May 16, 2012
By
In The Hood(ie)

For some reasons, hoodies are in the news.  The Trayvon Martin case put hoodies in the spotlight, causing Geraldo Rivera to make a major faux pas about the symbolism of the hoodie as he urged parents not to let their kids wear them.  (He since apologized and retracted the statement.) And last week, Wall Street was in another of its fits over Mark Zuckerberg’s hoodie, and what it symbolized to the captains of industry.  (Perhaps they should be more worried about the behavior of former stalwarts like J.P. Morgan.)...

Read more »

Gone Mobile

May 15, 2012
By
Gone Mobile

When we designed and conducted the “Goin’ Mobile” ethnographic study with Arbitron back in 2010, we saw some amazing “stupid human smartphone tricks” that were precursors to major behavioral changes that have become societal in scope. While speaking with a friend the other day who has an iPad but is still using a flip phone, she told me that she has purposely shied away from purchasing an iPhone because she thinks it will ruin her life. That’s an interesting way to think about the smartphone phenomenon.  It is a...

Read more »

But Where’s The Proof?

May 14, 2012
By
But Where’s The Proof?

During the past 12 months, I’ve joined Lori Lewis on a new kind of world tour, visiting radio stations, clusters, and companies – helping them unravel their digital mysteries.  We’ve had some frank conversations about social strategies, and we’ve led numerous brainstorm and staff sessions in an effort to bring clarity to station efforts. We came up with the phrase “Random acts of digital” (or “social”) to describe what often occurs at the station level.  There are so many distractions, time and people pressures, and bright shiny objects that...

Read more »

Turn Facts Into Feelings

May 10, 2012
By
Turn Facts Into Feelings

Last weekend turned out to be a very special one for me.  I received a great honor from my alma mater, Michigan State University – an Outstanding Alumni Award from their College of Communications Arts and Sciences. It was truly a memorable occasion that I shared with other amazing honorees, as well as family and friends.  I was aided and abetted by Dr. Ed Cohen, Paul Jacobs, and MSU’s Gary Reid, as well as many of you who wrote recommendations on my behalf. So what do you learn from...

Read more »

The Death of Facebook?

May 9, 2012
By
The Death of Facebook?

So on Monday, we posted a blog about how Facebook’s IPO could be really big.  Today, Lori Lewis imagines a scenario where Facebook may disappear – or at least wane in importance.  Here’s an interesting viewpoint about how to make the most out of Facebook while the iron is hot.  As always, we welcome your comments. “Here’s Why Google And Facebook Might Completely Disappear In The Next Five Years.” What a headline!  It came from Eric Jackson – a Forbes.com contributor.  You can read his entire article here: To save you...

Read more »

The Best Job Ever

May 8, 2012
By
The Best Job Ever

You may have seen it in Forbes.  One of those best/worst jobs lists recently came out, and yup, “broadcaster” made the list you don’t want to be on. The “research” was conducted by the job guidance site CareerCast.com and evaluated 200 professions.  Along with one of the worse jobs being a traditional broadcaster, the Forbes list also included waiter/waitress, lumberjack, dishwasher, oil rig worker, and butcher. Yikes. When I tweeted the story out, I started to receive indignant responses from many in the radio community, questioning the survey and Forbes’ motivation.  (“Newspaper reporter”...

Read more »

Things You Know

May 7, 2012
By
Things You Know

The coming Facebook IPO is all you’re going to hear about during the next few weeks whether you watch CNBC or not.  This is the biggest tech offering since Google (no, not Pandora), and all the “experts” will be chiming in about whether you should invest in Mark Zuckerberg’s stock or not. Before I launch into my prediction, let me remind you that I am not a financial prognosticator.  In fact, if my family’s money manager/financial advisor were free to tell you stories about some of my investment ideas, you...

Read more »

Hold The Phone

May 4, 2012
By
Hold The Phone

While checking out my Twitter feed a couple weeks ago, someone offered up a great Seth Godin line that actually comes from a blog post that’s four years old.  It hasn’t lost an ounce of importance during that time: “The only reason to answer the phone when a customer calls is to make the customer happy.” In this case, Seth was referencing a bad phone experience he had with a leading manufacturer of kitchen products.  But the name of the company and the specifics of Seth’s complaints don’t really matter....

Read more »

NPR R&D

May 3, 2012
By
NPR R&D

Public radio fan, Paul Jacobs, takes a look at program development at NPR and how it differs from traditional efforts.  Thanks to Larry Rosin for bringing the story to his attention. In the decade just concluded, we were fortunate to work closely with NPR on their overall strategy, programming, digital, and revenue development.  I don’t have to tell you how enjoyable and stimulating that relationship was – we were working with some of the best, smartest, most dedicated people in broadcasting, who cared less about what brand of car they drove...

Read more »