Media Ramblings
Rambling About the Media and Using the Media to RambleArchive for Uncategorized
Back in Chicagoland
Thought I would bang out a quick post today to let you know I am back in Chicagoland. I loved the Savannah area but there was really nothing there for me once I was laid off. Chicago is really my home anyway and it’s great to be back. The drive across country was so much fun, especially with Sirius Satellite Radio.
Obviously with being laid off, things other than Media have been taking up my time. Education is a big factor in determining what my next step is. I am taking the LSAT in December and preparing for that by taking a Kaplan prep class that lasts through November. I have already applied for a Masters program at Loyola Chicago and I am waiting to hear if I am accepted.
Really, I guess you could say i am throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks. I have been in contact with WTMX and will be back on there soon doing weekends (probably after Thanksgiving) but I am done with pursuing radio outside of larger markets, it just isn’t worth it anymore. Quite honestly, radio in general is sort of just a hobby for me now unless a serious offer comes along.
I am also meeting for lunch with some contacts I have been consistently networking with the past year or so including a job recruiter and an Edelman public relations contact in Chicago.
Today I filed for unemployment to hold me over but I am hopeful that I will be back on my feet in no time. I still love media and technology, just have to deal with some more pressing issues for the time being. It’s cool, I have always loved a challenge and I am looking forward to overcoming this one.
Also today is the first day I volunteer at the Lazarus House! After volunteering at The Old Savannah Mission I made a promise to myself to always try and get involved in giving back to whatever community I live in whatever way I can. If nothing else, it builds some good karma and makes me feel great.
Laid Off
Today I was laid off from my job of the last two years due to budget reasons. The economy is bad now so it wasn’t totally unexpected but of course it still isn’t exactly ideal. Regardless I am now available if anyone is looking to hire. I think you can see from my blog here that I am passionate, driven and at least semi-intelligent and intellectually curious.
I would love to hear from anyone. Please pass it along.
Thanks!
**Update**
Hey everyone, just a quick update to let you know I have not abandoned my blog or passion for media and technology. I am just very busy with all kinds of other things and haven’t been able to put together a new post.
I will try my best to get back in the groove as soon as I can but right now more important things are taking up my time. I’ll be back!
Can You Curl Up With a Kindle?
Okay so I’m not going to go thru all of the pros and cons of the Kindle reader being offered by Amazon.com because you’ve probably already heard them all but I wanted to ask you a couple of simple questions.
Would you rather read a real book or a Kindle? Will you purchase a Kindle?
I get the idea of the Kindle. Obviously someone decided to make the iPod for books in hopes that it would be just as successful, but will it?
Honestly, I don’t know.
Initially I have a negative reaction, partly because the constant transformation of everything physical to digital makes me feel like I am in a Sci-Fi novel where people are constantly becoming less human and more machine. On some level the Kindle makes me want to take up arms against “the machines!!!”
Also, being raised by a mother who is a teacher and staunch proponent of reading books, I feel like “real books” are a part of who I am and to lose them is somehow losing a part of myself.
I know, I need therapy.
On the other hand it really does seem sort of cool. It definitely saves space and you can download entire books wirelessly for a pretty cheap price. Just think of all the benefits the iPod has when it comes to purchasing and transporting your music library and that is what the Kindle does with your books. No need to list all of the positives one by one I think you get the idea.
Please take a moment to answer these poll questions:
Internet Causing Insomnia
People are losing sleep over the Internet.
I’m not talking about students researching papers that are due the next day or obsessive compulsive fan boys waiting for midnight to strike so they can see the new Slipknot masks.
I’m talking about TV and Newspaper executives.
I came across an interesting article at Variety.com that speaks to the changing media landscape. It details a study that finds the average age of those watching Live TV is older than ever before. I say Live TV because this study didn’t measure delayed viewing or DVR use.
What’s the age you ask? 50. Yep, the people who watch TV the most are half way to 100 years old.
Okay that last sentence is total “Internet Sensationalism.” 50 isn’t close to 100. As a matter of fact if 50 is old than to get to 100 you would have to live a whole other 50 years to get there! So you would have to be a whole other 50 year old older. That makes 50 seem young.
Just thought I’d call myself out on an obvious spin.
This is actually interesting for a few reasons. First of all, it’s the first time that the average age of TV viewers has fallen out of the coveted 18-49 year old age demographic. Secondly, it marks another sign that more and more people are getting their entertainment and news from other media sources like the Internet.
Why stay up late to watch one of your favorite comedians on The Tonight Show when you’ll be able to watch it and discuss it tomorrow at your leisure on YouTube or the network’s web site? Tonight Show viewers by the way have a median age of 54.
Check out the article for more specific and interesting stats on different shows such as the average age for viewers of Supernanny is 41 and Nightline viewers are 52. Hey did you know that the median age for U.S. households is 38?
Okay I’ll stop.
The Washington Post points out that newspapers are also feeling the hit from the new media. Circulation is down, jobs are being slashed and designs are changing all in an attempt to compete with the Internet.
Will it work? The article makes a good point when it states that Newspapers can’t beat the Internet at it’s own game.
Physical newspapers are not going to be able to be updated at any time throughout the day, have readers comments and ideas added instantly or be able to transform into another paper instantly.
One of the big arguments against the Internet is that it is too shallow and catering to an A.D.D. mindset where sound bytes matter more than substance and research is second to sensationalism. There are cases to be made for that to be sure but the truth is that you can find EVERYTHING on the Internet.
If you want shallow, sensational sound bytes you can get your fill but you can also splurge on in-depth, well researched articles. That’s the real strength of the Internet. You create your own experience. You can get whatever you want, when ever you want it with just a click of a mouse.
How can anything compete against that?
Releasing the Spiders
I just signed up for Technorati and in order to get the most out of their services I need to go ahead and include a link to my my Technorati profile.
This will as they say, “release the spiders” into my blog and the rest is well, I will let you know.
Technorati is a website that helps to index and track the popularity and influence of blogs on the web. I’m new to it but once I use it for a few days I’m sure I will have a better understanding of how it works and what its benefits are.
Here goes…
Did you hear that? Uggh I hate spiders…
Tracking, analyzing and learning about an audience. That’s a place where the web has a huge advantage over any other media platform.
If you don’t believe me let’s put it into perspective for you using RADIO.
Did you know that radio ratings are determined by junk mail? It’s true.
A company named Arbitron will send out pamphlets to random households in each radio market during every ratings period and instruct people to fill out a daily journal tracking their listening habits.
People are expected first of all not to throw this Arbitron Diary away with the rest of the junk mail but then they have to carry it around with them and jot down their listening information or even worse at the end of the day remember exactly what station they were listening to and when and record it accurately.
What a horrible system! The reason station are always saying their station name between songs, in and out of songs and in and out of commercial sets is to imprint that name in your head so even if you aren’t listening to them you may think you were and jot down their station in your diary anyway.
People’s careers are saved and lost, demographics are determined and decisions are made all depending on how accurately random people fill out some junk mail.
With the web it can be way more accurate. Below you’ll be able to view a video that features a short interview with Todd Parsons, co-founder of Buzz Logic. Buzz Logic is a company that can help track the main influencers on the web.
By analyzing who people are linking to and linking from when it comes to certain products, people or topics they can help companies and individuals understand who is setting the tone of the conversation when it comes to their product, idea or initiative.
Companies can then take that information and reach out to the trend setters and opinion makers and hopefully gain valuable feedback and ideas.
How valuable is it to know who the real influencers are and who is really setting the tone of the conversation when it comes to your stuff?? I would say it’s gold but really it’s priceless.
With the web we are really beginning to understand more and more about how ideas spread, who is spreading them and how to change and shape those ideas. It has never been easier to get instant, honest and specific feedback on products and audience.
No longer do we have to rely on old demographic models that assume that Males 18-24 years old are only interested in beer and strip clubs while Women 25-54 only want to listen to pop music and talk about decorating.
How insulting.
How many times have you seen someone who defies the demographic norm? Yet we still tend to go by them because we have been lacking a better system to gauge it all.
We really are way more complex than that as people and the web is starting to shed light on the reality of it all. We still haven’t perfected the analyzation of audience and opinion yet but with the web we are getting closer and closer each day.
For Better or Worse?
Remember when the parachute pants and fluorescent wardrobes of the 80’s seemed cutting edge? Well today they seem completely dated and out of style.
It is the same with technology. As advanced as the level of technology we currently utilize seems there is always something new on the horizon.
Where will all of these leaps in knowledge and technology take us? Where will this “New Media” lead? When will we get there? And just what the heck is GoogleZon?
