why i think some people just don't get twitter...

i've been a big twitter fan for a few years now. and even though many of us are heavy users of the little, blue tweet-goodness... we forget that there are still many many people out there who don't see the atttraction.

ever wonder why some people just don't get twitter? maybe you're one of them.


imagine walking into a firehouse. and all you see is bunch of guys sitting around. they're relaxing... shooting a basketball... grilling up some burgers... maybe washing a truck. doesn't look too impressive, does it?

maybe because you don't really see the full potential of that firehouse until something big happens! the alarm sounds... and the action starts! all of a sudden a well-tuned machine jumps to life and everything starts coming together. in under a minute firefighters are dressed and loading into trucks. equipment is stowed, the trucks roll out and the trained teams are on their way to the scene. something big happens. something that makes a difference.

i look at twitter much in the same way. the first time you get on, there's not a lot going on. and for the most part, you see a lot of "going to grab some lunch"... and "whoa, big day today! i'm nervous!" honestly the whole "twitter"-thing to a beginner looks rather boring. but this lull is much like the firehouse!

the value of twitter comes from how people respond during life events! perfect example... a person is flying into LAX one afternoon, and they hear something about an earthquake that had just hit southern california. a quick google search would pull up articles written about earthquakes in the past. geological surveys looking to predict future quakes... and possibly even a little known rock'n roll cover band from PA who dress like the amish. but no reference to something that happened moments before you landed.

but if you were to go to search.twitter.com ... and search "earthquake" you would surely find a detailed conversation that's exploding with first-hand reports of that recent event. perfect example of how twitter is changing the game. twitter provides 'search' in real-time.

if you don't believe me... try watching a live awards show on tv while surfing twitter! it's like walking into a room filled with people talking about the show! how this band sounds horrible... or that dress looks like 'bubble-wrap'... or can you believe taylor swift just got "kanyed???!!"

plus i've found twitter reports news faster than most respected websites, tv and radio stations... and light years ahead of newspapers! check out @BreakingNews sometime. sorting through their recent list of tweets will put you on top of the day's news!

esentially twitter has introduced us all to a new concept... "live search." and whether or not twitter is the next google of facebook... live search has definately proven it's value, and is here to stay.

background on the name...

i love the this quote...

“If I have seen farther than other men, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”

but up until now i wasn't sure where it came from. well i just happened to come across a post on the Freakonomics blog that runs an ongoing quote search. and someone submitted this quote. here's the background:

“We are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size.” Bernard of Chartres(French philosopher), quoted in John of Salisbury, The Metalogicon (1159).

good show Bernard!

rearview mirror point of view...

here's a post i did for another blog that we run at CD101 called "An Alternative Point of View."

A blog post this morning from Jacobs Media pretty much threw gasoline on my fire! And I think that we at radio stations need to understand this concept throughout all of our departments! By understanding it thoroughly… it’ll shape what comes out of our mouths when we’re talking to clients, prospective clients, partners, record labels, peers and friends.

The post touches on a New York Times piece that looks at the change in consumer spending levels since 2003. Jacobs relates it to which categories are “hot” categories in advertising spending… then makes a completely valid point that it isn’t that spending is down. It’s that advertising is shifting.

Great. Now that we’ve established that… the biggest challenge is to work thru this with agencies who have relied so heavily on ratings for so long! Why do you think that Arbitron is struggling with the launch of PPMs? It’s because their model is broke. (Arbitron Profit Dips in Q3 via Radio Ink10/21/09) And as Arbitron work desperately to stay in the game (by introducing PPM), they’re failing to see that radio is changing. Some stations are upset because ratings are changing. Others are upset because they’re not changing fast enough. But here’s the key…

As entertainment evolves… the value comes in the multi-channel reach that you’ve developed with your station!

Ratings alone are losing their potency. They’re now a piece of the pie.

It is time to start placing value on fans, friends, followers, subscribers, and the various communities of people that are just as valuable, if not more valuable, than the listeners Arbitron tries to reach!

Now all we need is a system that aggregates all of that data together into one, easy to read/use, piece of inexpensive software. Anyone… anyone… Bueller… ?

Read the post here: Follow The (Shrinking) Money – jacoBLOG 10/21/09

oh how times change...

sure... when i got into radio we were still using cart machines. i got my start as reel-to-reels were ending their run... where splicing an edit together meant it was time to break out the razor blade and actually cut, then tape it back together! *NOW WAIT* this WAS in college! i'm not that old!

that new-fangled invention "compact discs" had been out for a while. and the college station i worked at would get our "hit disks" in the mail from TM Century every couple of weeks with the latest songs being pushed on the charts. record companies were the same way.

from that point, over the next 5-10 years, digital downloads rose to prominence. itunes gained in popularity. and record sales... er CD sales, started to bite it. hard.

well... today i came across the evolutionary step forward. what is surely either the "next format," or an attempt by the labels to still have something physical to mail out to radio stations offering new music. astral works records sent about 20 of these our way...

a micro-SD card with 16 tracks new artist music on it.

a CD ends up in crooked stacks that lean their way toward the ceilings of the music director and program director's offices. an email with a digital song attached... or a link to a shared site with new music is too easy to pass over and be missed. surely a tiny... little... microchip, with numerous songs digitized and compressed to hell... to the point where the dynamics have all but been wiped smooth... will get the job done. it'll be noticed right?

so i asked around to see if anyone had plugged this little bad-boy in and give it a listen...

of the three people who are actively managing the influx of new music around cd101, the answers ranged from...

"that's so high tech to me that it's almost too much. i have not-- who's on the playlist?" to... "what?"

guess those record companies still've got some work to do. nice try though fellas.

here's a test post via SMS. hoping this works out! although i'm thinking posting via email will be better suited since I can attach pics.

more music widget...

just messin around with the CD101 music widget. love that you can grab it and post to your blog / facebook / other sites! also love that it continues to update! sweet!

a perfect example of why magazines are folding...

earlier today the memorial service for Michael Jackson was broadcast all over the world. the news coverage for the "king of pop's" death has been everywhere! in fact, trying to get away from it is virtually impossible! it's pretty safe to say that i've had my fill of MJ tributes, specials and the like. don't get me wrong, i love his music. just pointing out how much coverage there has been.

the irony in all of this is that this morning, as i paged through the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, dated July 9-23, while eating my generic brand super sugar crisp... i came across this sweet little story...

"Michael Jackson's Troubled Comeback"

The singer's upcoming 50 concerts will make him rich again - if he holds up.

in a world where instant gratification is expected, especially in the world of entertainment news, you're going to have a hard time competing when the competition is flying past you days... even weeks ahead of time! and don't kid yourself. anything that grabs consumers' eyes and ears these days is absolutely competition!

so a dated story like this is only going to happen occasionally. possibly. but the more often it happens you know that subscribers and those suckers who actually paid full price at the news stand are going to think twice about whether or not they lay down the cash next time. the point is that the overall content of Rolling Stone, and any other magazine for that matter, is going to have to be so freakin good... that people look past the short comings.

needless to say... this issue of Rolling Stone features the Jonas Brothers on the cover. i think you see where i'm going with this one.