MediaTide

Rough Road For Smooth Jazz

mediatide — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:17:52 +0000

Old WVMV Website

The death knell for smooth jazz on FM radio radio continues to toll, as long-time Detroit SJ outlet WVMV (V-98.7) switched to CBS’ rock/rythm hybrid “AMP” format last weekend. It’s strange that a format that appeals to an upscale urban audience is ditched for a youth-based format, especially when that audience is not at radio’s core and never will be. WVMV had good ratings, too. Also strange that most SJ stations are in smaller markets, where the lifestyles are not as sophisticated. I’ve been told that the ad agencies that control a lot of radio buys don’t counsel their clients to advertise on these stations. Hence, there is a lack of revenue, which causes the format change.

The Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project Rolls On

mediatide — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:00:24 +0000

Here is the latest in the series of videos in the Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project.

The Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project, Part 13

mediatide — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 03:21:31 +0000

The Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project resumes on this site with the first in a series of interviews with Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing Communications for FRCH Worldwide in Cincinnati (Hey, I know where that is!). Kevin also writes for the Bad Pitch Blog and Strategic Public Relations

Today, Kevin talks about how digital media has changed the media relations process.

Here’s the link to our YouTube Channel.

Faceless Book Makes It Tough To Find Friends

mediatide — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:37:08 +0000

Every now and then I get a wild hair and spend a few minutes trying drum up some old friends, acquaintances, business associates, and family members on Facebook. It’s fun to catch up with the past and keep in touch with those I might never see again. Some of them make it difficult, though.

I am not one to start asking people to be my friend if I’m not sure I have the right person. Therefore, I can’t (or rather, won’t) ask you to be my friend if:

1. You don’t upload a picture of yourself.

2. You don’t put your city or affiliation in.

3. You go by a different name. I do understand this, though. Marriage, divorce, professional reasons, witness protection, etc. Maybe “Wellington”, the bank president, doesn’t want to be known as “Stinky” anymore.

What’s the point of using the application if nobody can find you? You can’t bury yourself in anonymity if you expect people to be your online friend, especially if you have a common name. You hear me, Joe Smith?

On Monday, the next set of videos in the Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project….Kevin Dugan.
then then

Does Length Matter in Online Video?

mediatide — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:02:25 +0000

For the past three weeks my research colleague, Bill Sledzik, and I, have been posting segments of our video interview with Brian Connolly, of the mothballed Strumpette blog. Our interview with Brian is part of our sabbatical undertaking, The Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project. We’ll unveil our interviews with six more social media innovators during the rest of the winter. Unlike Brian, these people are unabashed proponents of social media in business and education.

The videos are being streamed through our SledzikCurran Channel on YouTube. I have been tracking the views, and I noticed that the first clip in the series garnered our highest number of plays (234), while the last clip was the least viewed (37). With the exception of a few minor “upticks” in the middle of the series, viewership declined gradually until it hit bottom at the end. I expected this because this is not an episodic piece that builds to a crescendo like a reality show.

There is a simple explanation, for which I tap the memory to recall a lecture by one of my professors at Ohio University: Dr. Richard Vedder, who taught ~~Media Studies~~ Economics, of all things! He was discussing the Principle of Marginal Utility, and he used ice cream cones and “utils of satisfaction” (an imaginary measurement using an ascending scale of 0-10) to explain. On a hot day, you might crave ice cream, so you go to a store and buy a cone. You eat it, it’s refreshing and it tastes wonderful. So you might get 10 utils from that cone. You buy another. It still tastes good, but not as good as the first. Maybe you get 7 utils from the second cone. If you continue to buy cones, you would get fewer utils from each subsequent one. Maybe by the fifth cone, you wouldn’t be able to finish it, giving you 0 utils. Brian said different things in each video clip, but his theme was the same: social media is not necessarily a wonderful way to communicate. Viewers understood his point of view quickly and probably didn’t need to watch beyond the first clip to understand where he stood.

In retrospect, we might have posted fewer, longer clips. It’s a double-edged sword because viewer fatigue could set in with longer clips. They might not have watched the whole segment. Some people might have avoided the clips altogether if they saw a number like 9:51 in the player window. I am certain that we probably would have had far fewer than 234 views for the first video if it was a lot longer. I’m also confident that most viewers who tuned in for a clip watched it from start to finish. My guess is we’ll stick with shorter clips. Decisions such as this are one of many factors that challenge content providers in the social media universe.

The Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project, Part 12

mediatide — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:16:30 +0000

In the end, says Brian, “none of this stuff really matters.” Here’s one final minute with Strumpette’s co-creator. Run time (:54)

That concludes our series with Brian Connolly. Watch this space next week for details of other interviews from the Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project.

Subscribe to the YouTube channel.

The Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project, Part 11

mediatide — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:44:40 +0000

In preparation for our interview, I asked Brian Connolly what topics he might like to address. His “6 Fallacies of Social Media” is one of the outcomes. We’d planned to run 6 individual clips, but then decided it worked better as a package. It’s the longest segment of the series. Run time (6:43)

Thursday – Strumpette: A Self Analysis (Final Segment)

Background on The Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project

Subscribe to the YouTube Channel

The Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project, Part 10

mediatide — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:11:09 +0000

Socializing of property — be it real or intellectual — leads to bankrupting of the value chain. More insights from Strumpette co-creator Brian Connolly, as he takes on one of social media’s most respected works, The Cluetrain Manifesto. Run time (1:59)

Wednesday: The 6 Fallacies of Social Media

The Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project, Part 9

mediatide — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:18:39 +0000

Strumpette’s Brian Connolly comments on the value of media expertise to help consumers find value. Time…(1:02)

Tuesday – The Cluetrain Wreck

Background on the Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project

Subscribe to the YouTube Feed

The Sledzik-Curran Social Media Project, Part 8

mediatide — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:37:46 +0000

Strumpette’s Brian Connolly addresses his concern about social media: “It’s a popularity contest…it’s bad for our business.” Run time (1:06)

Monday: Do Social Media Devalue Expertise?