The three primary roles your local website should play
While the convergence of news, blogging, and historical perspective may be a relatively new phenomenon, the result is a natural culmination of three traditional spheres moving closer together: the town crier, the town square, and the town expert. (Follow the link for a pretty stellar Venn diagram.)
Steve Yelvington believes that local news sites tend to invest too many resources into the town crier model, neglecting the other two fields:
Journalists tend to gravitate to only one of these roles: the town crier, the quaint colonial-era village character who walks around ringing a bell telling you what’s happening. It comes naturally. This is why 24×7 coverage teams and the “continuous news desk” concept take root so quickly when newsrooms suddenly awaken to the urgency of taking the Internet seriously.
But the other roles aren’t secondary. They’re coequal, and they’re grossly neglected by most local news websites.
As far as Chattanooga is concerned, the town expert model is desperately needed. Finding information outside of “most recent events” requires a trip to the library when it should just be a Google search away. Incidentally, revamping the library has been a big project during the last 2 years, but accessibility has taken a backseat to marketing.
HT: John Hawbaker
The No-Stats All-Star
As is his prerogative, Michael Lewis takes a lengthy look at the Houston Rockets’ Shane Battier, his team-oriented approach to the game, and why he’s one of the best-kept secrets in the superstar-driven NBA:
Battier’s game is a weird combination of obvious weaknesses and nearly invisible strengths. When he is on the court, his teammates get better, often a lot better, and his opponents get worse — often a lot worse. He may not grab huge numbers of rebounds, but he has an uncanny ability to improve his teammates’ rebounding. He doesn’t shoot much, but when he does, he takes only the most efficient shots. He also has a knack for getting the ball to teammates who are in a position to do the same, and he commits few turnovers. On defense, although he routinely guards the N.B.A.’s most prolific scorers, he significantly reduces their shooting percentages.
I wonder how Grizzlies fans will feel about Lewis’s conclusions on Battier?
The Michael Jackson Auction
Julien’s Auctions will hold an auction in April to sell off some of the King of Pop’s belongings. Given the range of ridiculously expensive, narcissistic paraphernalia, it’s no wonder MJ’s facing bankruptcy:
When reached for comment, Paul McCartney exclaimed, “I can’t believe that jerk blew the royalties from ‘Hey Jude’ on such a retarded painting.”
Despite being two of the most well-read news outlets in the world, both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are in serious, financial trouble for a simple reason. Though part of the WSJ is subscription-based (yeah, who does that?), most of their online revenue is derived from advertising. Walter Isaacson describes the failure of this model in a recent Time Magazine article, How to Save Your Newspaper:
This is not a business model that makes sense. Perhaps it appeared to when Web advertising was booming and every half-sentient publisher could pretend to be among the clan who “got it” by chanting the mantra that the ad-supported Web was “the future.” But when Web advertising declined in the fourth quarter of 2008, free felt like the future of journalism only in the sense that a steep cliff is the future for a herd of lemmings.
Newspapers and magazines traditionally have had three revenue sources: newsstand sales, subscriptions and advertising. The new business model relies only on the last of these. That makes for a wobbly stool even when the one leg is strong. When it weakens — as countless publishers have seen happen as a result of the recession — the stool can’t possibly stand.
Incidentally, Mark Cuban’s announcement of an Open Source Stimulus specifically states that he won’t invest in a business that “generates any revenue from advertising.” Why? Because it’s a lost cause. Ad revenue might bring in a sustainable living for a few bloggers working out of their homes. But for large and (sometimes) inflated organizations like NYT and WSJ, that model just isn’t good enough. The other two legs of the stool are missing. And both investors and media-types are beginning to understand this new reality.
There’s a finer point here that while the free market is currently speaking loudly about these 2 organizations, their content remains relatively free and undervalued as far as the end-user is concerned. They are operating in unchartered territory in which there is not a stable model to go by. There is currently no “market” in this free market equation.
Christopher Fahey argues that the pre-2000 paradigm of the “dumb client” is no longer applicable:
…I still regularly hear designers and consultants stereotyping their clients as if it were still 1999, as if they were still dealing with people who had never bought a book online and don’t know how search engines work, much less joined a social network or had their own blog. This is just wrong. This kind of attitude doesn’t help you as a consultant, nor does it help designers and consultancies as a whole. If this sounds like you, I suggest you drop it. You’re making your clients mad and probably coming across as more than a little condescending.
I’m not pointing any fingers, here, but idle chatter in Chattanooga occasionally lends itself to that kind of stereotyping. Granted, many area clients are still behind the curve, but their lack of knowing is more naivete than ignorance. How you differentiate between the two is important in the long run. Word gets around in a small city.
The Mark Cuban Stimulus Plan - Open Source Funding
Billionaire Mark Cuban is putting his money where his mouth is, and opening up his capital to start-ups in order to stimulate the economy. All you have to do is post your business plan on his website for he and others to review. If he deems the plan worth his while, he will provide some kind of assistance. If not, then he won’t.
There are of course, a host of rules and stipulations involved which you can review on his blog, but it’s pretty incredible that he’s looking at the current economy as an opportunity rather than a liability, and acting accordingly.
Having recently moved to District 1 last August (and not District 2 as I originally thought), I haven’t been as active in the North Chattanooga community as I would like. As it happens though, both my wife and I work in District 1, and we spend a good chunk of our leisure time there as well.
The past few days, I’ve spent some time learning about the 3 candidates for District 1, and plan to cast a vote for incumbent councilwoman, Linda Bennett, in the March 3rd municipal election. While I think that North Chattanooga still faces many challenges in the next 4 years, I believe on balance that Ms. Bennett has served the area well. In addition to her commitment to my neighborhood, she has worked hard to tackle some of the challenges facing Mountain Creek and Lookout Valley as well. Since I am happy with the direction that North Chattanooga has taken during the last four years, I plan to cast a vote for four more. I encourage my friends and neighbors to follow suit.
In the near future, I plan to play a more active role in my community, and I look forward to working with Ms. Bennett and District 2 councilwoman, Sally Robinson, to continue to make North Chattanooga and the City of Chattanooga an excellent place to live and work.
As for the mayor’s race between Ron Littlefield and Rob Healy, I have no preference, and in all likelihood, will vote for neither. And you can read my editorial on the state of the current, mayoral race at Chattarati.
The Meaning of Sarah Palin — Yuval Levin discusses why Sarah Palin was so reviled by the Left and so adored by the Right, and what her candidacy tells us about the cultural and economic divides in America:
The Republican party has been the party of cultural populism and economic elitism, and the Democrats have been the party of cultural elitism and economic populism. Republicans tend to identify with the traditional values, unabashedly patriotic, anti-cosmopolitan, non-nuanced Joe Sixpack, even as they pursue an economic policy that aims at elite investor-driven growth. Democrats identify with the mistreated, underpaid, overworked, crushed-by-the-corporation “people against the powerful,” but tend to look down on those people’s religion, education, and way of life.
(more…)
While researching an idea for great, initially-unpopular sophomore records, I came across this sample list for The Beastie Boy’s Paul’s Boutique (original source here), which will be reissued this Tuesday. Looking at the list, I was struck by the fact that no one will ever make a record quite like Paul’s Boutique again, because the cost of clearing that many high-profile samples would be astronomical.
Check out the list for The Sounds of Science:
- “Don’t Sniff Coke” by Pato Banton
- “Walk from Regio’s” by Isaac Hayes
- “My Philosophy” by Boogie Down Productions
- “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” by James Brown
- “Back in the USSR”, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)”, “The End”, & “When I’m Sixty-Four” by The Beatles
And that’s just one song on an album composed (almost) entirely of samples.
Yes, there’s a case to be made for Girl Talk, but for some reason, Greg Gillis “has never been threatened with legal action,” probably due to the fact that he’s operating in the margins, and not making much money from his albums.
When you’re a kid, your parents probably told you that you can do anything you want if you set your mind to it. Having recently turned 30, it seems I’m past the statue of limitations on this golden rule of ambition. Given my age, background, and natural proclivities, there are some things that I really can’t accomplish with my life anymore. And I’m kinda ok with that. Here are three.
Moonwalk. No, not the Michael Jackson kind. Anyone can learn to do the dance sensation that swept the entertainment world of the 1980’s. I’m talking about the Neil Armstrong, ‘holy shit, I’m walking on the moon’ variety. I might as well add ’spacewalk’ to this list, because I don’t think I’m cut out to be an astronaut. For starters, NASA probably wouldn’t accept me into their program. And even if I did miraculously get in, it’s highly unlikely that I would be one of the lucky few chosen for a hypothetical mission to the moon. Virgin Galactic might be my one last hope on this front, but I’m not holding my breath.
Become President of the United States. If Barack Obama proved one thing in the last election, it’s that anyone can become President…sorta. His story is very unlikely and fraught with all kinds of political missteps (admitting his youthful indiscretions in Dreams of My Father for instance), but he’s also an incredibly gifted orator and thinker — two qualities I definitely lack. I didn’t attend an Ivy League school and never will. And it takes a certain kind of audacity to think one could ever become President (or should) that I will never have.
Host The Daily Show. The Daily Show is probably my favorite television show that I watch on a regular basis. While taking a well-deserved stab at cable news coverage, it can also be quite poignant in its political and social commentary. Jon Stewart has an uncanny knack for getting to the heart of issues during interviews without being condescending (most of the time) or overly flattering. Stewart’s successor will have some very big shoes to fill, someday. My proverbial feet are too small for that kind of role. And given my lack of experience in show business — you really have to cut your teeth at an early age for gigs like that — I doubt my audition tape would pass muster.
I’m sure I could think of more if I tried (like curing cancer for instance). But this brief list serves as a reminder that there are limitations in life, and while acknowledging those limitations can be a little on the cathartic side, it’s also a good way to take stock of what I can do.
The Man Who Made Obama:
It was Plouffe (rhymes with bluff) who gathered the president’s unprecedented thirteen-million-name contact list, which has grown into a fulsome pulsing beast, and it is Plouffe who now owns it and keeps it under lock and key. Plouffe sent those thirteen million people an e-mail in mid-November and they replied, Yes, I still want to be involved, and yes, David Plouffe, I’ll have house parties when you tell me to. Here is who I am socioeconomically and socially. I am boxers; my next-door neighbor is briefs. Now the president has instructed him to make that list a new lever of government.
#TCOT aficionado’s take note. The email address still lies at the core of a user’s online identity. And control of such a massive email list allows the organizer to work across multiple platforms with continuity — even if those tools haven’t been developed, yet.
Make Something Cool Every Day — The movie novelizations are excellent. I’m a fan of the Caddyshack and The Hudsucker Proxy covers. (via Daring Fireball)
Mostly, I’ll miss seeing a politician in those glasses. Very bold.
Department of Eagles — An off-kilter cross-section of Americana. Download No One Does it Like You, In Ear Park, and more. I’m willing to bet that Daniel Rossen (Grizzly Bear) likes the Gershwin.
Bitter Brew — Michael Idov opened a coffee shop, and then watched his life (almost) fall apart in bankruptcy:
The small cafe connects to the fantasy of throwing a perpetual dinner party, and it cuts deeper—all the way to Barbie tea sets—than any other capitalist urge. To a couple in the throes of the cafe dream, money is almost an afterthought. Which is good, because they’re going to lose a lot of it.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve mistakenly thought I could run a kick-ass coffee shop.
Coraline trailer, a stop-motion, 3D fantasy film based on the book of the same name. The movie was directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach), and stars Dakota Fanning, John Hodgman, and Teri Hatcher.
If you have HBO, you can watch the impressive Behind the Scenes featurette on the making of the film.
Whereas:
- If you follow me on Twitter for the express purpose of pointing to your own content or telling me how awesome your business is 10 times a day, there’s a 90% chance I will not want to read your updates.
- If you ‘friend’ me on Facebook through mutual contacts, only to turn around and invite me to 3 events in which I have no interest in attending (because you never bothered to learn), you will be purged from my friends list.
- If you are a company that believes you’re only a blog post, Twitter post, or a Facebook event away from market penetration, you might need to re-evaluate your business strategy.
Otherwise:
- If you are an interesting individual, and happen to enjoy communicating ideas (and the occasional link) in 140 characters or less, there is a 90% chance I want to read your updates on Twitter.
- If you want to sometimes pass messages or photos along, or even invite me to the occasional event that you have a lot of personal energy invested into — or you deem it worth my while because you’ve taken the time to know what I like — we should be friends on Facebook.
- If you’re a business that happens to enjoy social media websites because it lets you stay connected with fans of your products or services, you get the big picture.
In that:
Social media (whatever that is) is not a business strategy. And it’s not a marketing plan. It’s simply another way for individuals to interact with other individuals.
