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Dave Does Digital: A Morning Show and Social Media

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How a Twin Cities morning mainstay, The Dave Ryan Show, is using social media.

I admit it, I listen to commercial radio quite a bit…yes, even Top 40. I know this is hard for many to admit. There is this pressure that if you don’t listen to NPR all the time you’re some how less of a person. I have my public radio favorites and still love to dig for new and more independent music, but I like hearing the “hits”. It’s the way I was brought up. Whether they be current or more from my formative years, I listen to rock, alternative, country and pop stations and the “hit” music they play. Besides, with a pre-teen and teen in the house and car it’s pretty much a given that I’ll be hearing my fair share of Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift.

It’s for that reason that I noted and was impressed with how one of Minneapolis’ local shows was using interactive and social media tools. What was also impressive was how they were integrating it into their on-air presentation. They often noted that more and sometimes exclusive content could be had online…a practice all too often avoided by stations and personalities.

As I have commented here on RemainComm, commercial radio as a whole has  been slow in adopting and investing in the new forms of media that allow the growth of relationships with their listeners. OK, some just plain suck at it. KDWB’s Dave Ryan Show is an exception. Dave and his cast have done some interesting things and I had a chance to chat with him about his interactive pursuits. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Media, News, Post, Radio, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

Mel Reveals the “Magic”

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Mel Karmazin. Mention that name to a broadcaster or business pundit and you’ll trigger a vast array of words, phrases, and emotions, many I won’t say here (mostly to avoid triggering of any parental controls on your browser). Brilliant, bastard, visionary, cheapskate, anger, respect, love, hate…are just a few of the words that might be associated with Mel. I myself arrived at CBS Radio just after Mel left and the “burn the furniture” era (supposedly) ended. The phrase that is probably the most consistent across the board would probably be “outspoken”.

In this December 30, 2009 interview with Charlie Rose, the former CEO of CBS and current CEO of XM Sirius Satellite Radio, as well as the man responsible for making Howard Stern (second only to Howard himself) insanely wealthy, commented on many issues that face the media business today. But, in his outspoken style, he also reveals the “magic” ingredient of the business model for what is now known as “traditional” media and why it no longer works.

You can see the full interview by clicking here and entering the word “Karmazin” in the search box. Sorry, but Charlie hasn’t made this video shareable as of this writing.) You can also get a copy of the transcript. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Advertising, All, Media, Monetization, News, Post, Radio, TV Tagged With: , , , , ,

Apple iS late?

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I guess it’s for sure. In a matter of weeks we will see the Apple Tablet. What isn’t for sure is the name, but the iSlate? Um…I think not. Really…Apple iS late. Nope not gonna happen. Apple is never late for anything…or at least they have always managed to position it that way.

Apple has been responsible for a lot of game-changing. The launch of so many of their products have gone on to alter the way we use technology though they haven’t really been first to the party. The Macintosh set a standard in the PC biz…well after the PC existed. The iPod made MP3 listening sexy and altered the music industry…while there were already plenty of MP3 players on the market. And, most recently, the iPhone forever changed the smartphone industry and remains the gold standard…after the Treo and Blackberry blazed the trail. But I’m not quite so sure the launch of the tablet will be as big a game changer.

I love Apple “stuff”. I prefer my Mac over my PC every time. I also think it’s great to see the anticipation build when a new product is imminent. My Apple fanboy friends are downright giddy when things are cookin’ at Apple. To see their expressions, to listen to them wax poetic, to get caught up in it all…it’s fun.

The earmarks are there, I guess. The small netbook thing is kinda “meh” with most consumers being cool with either a small screen that a smartphone provides or the larger screen that the laptop provides. And portable is where it’s at and we all know iPod Touch has been a huge success. In fact, this could easily be the next “stuff already exists to do everything this does…but it’s much cooler” product in Apple’s stable. But this time around, for some reason, I’m not as moved. Why is that?

Is it that this time, one of the biggest claims made by the industry is that the tablet could save the publishing industry? Will it do that?

I doubt the problem facing the newspaper and magazine business, figuring out how to make money from online content, is going to be magically fixed.

Perhaps the iTunes and iPhone app concept of delivering content to the tablet, allowing some sort of “micro payment” model, will emerge. But the producers/publishers of this content would be nuts not to offer that same content to the desktop or even mobile platforms.

The same thing goes for other obvious audio and video offerings online that will find themselves available
to the tablet. I can get it all the videos and music I want on my
laptop or phone.

Maybe the tablet will make it cooler to
watch and use…especially when other people see me doing it. And perhaps that’s the more likely outcome. The tablet will make viewing this stuff more sexy (and Apple knows sexy) and that might be cool enough.

Maybe that’s why I’m not as caught up in the excitement. I’m use to the good looking, easy to use, innovative Apple product, so it’s a bit anti-climatic. Maybe I need something more than a really big iPod touch. In addition, I may be harboring some deeper media concerns. I’d hate to think those in the print and broadcast media are waiting around for Apple to save their keisters.

We’ll find out what impact such a device will have in the months to come. In the meantime I’ll be impressed with how Apple can inspire all the hoopla…as well as innovation and raise awareness of technology, without ever seeming to be late.

Image courtesy of Disney

Filed Under: All, Gadgets, Media, News, Post Tagged With: , , ,

Here’s a Suprise…New Year Predictions!

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It’s not really a surprise, but it is always fun to start off a new year looking into the crystal ball. I’m gearing up for the annual “prognostication podcast” with my colleagues at Minnov8 this Saturday and I thought I’d just share five that I’m offering.

Mobile, baby, mobile…laptop sales will remain high and though small screen netbook sales will hold steady in the short -term, they will begin to decline as the adoption of mobile platforms like Android proliferate. The mobile industry will see growth and opportunity in devising new ways of charging for services that are internet data driven not voice driven. Mobile providers may very well wake up and make it easier to switch devices, though I’m not sure how they will be able to address the subsidizing of handsets without a “minimum contract period”. The bottom line is that portable is where it’s at and consumers will be more open to accepting the screen size of a mobile device rather than purchasing a small netbook.

Twitter use by the masses will decline…though much of it wasn’t there to begin with. The amount of activity on accounts that aren’t associated with, and used by social media enthusiasts, online professionals, and junkies will fall even more dramatically as other services like Facebook, and mobile applications offer similar advantages. This is not to say that Twitter is over. It isn’t. Twitters core users, audience, and niche will become more defined. Twitter as an aggregation and sharing tool will continue to grow…perhaps endangering the future of services such as Digg and Delicious.

Marketers will (hopefully) begin to understand the difference between selling via social media and communicating with customers…Okay, maybe that won’t kick in completely in 2010 (in general, marketers tend to be bit slow in understanding intangibles), but we will see progress.  In addition, the future of more and more services (Foursquare, GoWalla, etc) is based on the need to deliver real value…not just ads…quickly to users. It’s too easy to drop a service, block an application, or ignore a campaign for marketers not to understand value to consumer. (Note: The heavy use of GPS and revealing one’s current location to the world will give mainstream users the heebie jeebies and hamper some adoption of this part of the service.) One more thing on this topic…Social Media and Social Media Marketing/Advertising are not the same thing. Ads are less effective than content that provides value. Those that provide value also gain trust and that confidence, both of which can be monetized if done effectively. [Read more…]

Filed Under: All, Cloud Computing, Communication, Media, News, Post, Social Media, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

If Video Seems Daunting…

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…relax. In fact, remain calm. As promised in my post on who’s using video (what I called the wind-up), I wanted to share a second interview, the pitch, with Steven Rosenbaum from Magnify.net.

In this discussion I asked Steven to review his presentation and outline ways to overcome the “three boogeymen” also known as the reasons many avoid using video in our personal or business brand online strategy.

  • Video is too expensive
  • Raw user generated content isn’t brand safe.
  • Filtering the web is too much work.

 

Filed Under: All, Marketing, Media, News, Post, Video Tagged With: , ,