The Phoenix Light Rail Adventure

This blog isn't all about transportation issues (unless my car's in the garage), but the new Light Rail's all the news here in Phoenix. Seems like over 100,000 folks hopped on the new Light Rail for free this past weekend (I haven't yet the chance). While the naysayers are belittling its chances, the Phoenix Light Rail should hopefully give rise to a light rail network of cool bars and restaurant places at local stops.



Think of the possibilities for a Twitter group to have pub or restaurant crawls on the light rail map - fun all around! My guess is that the light rail will gain its early adopters starting next Monday (for those fortunate enough to be working near a stop), with heavy weekend activities and sports traffic at other times. I hope it takes off and expands.

12/30 UPDATE: Someone's already set up a Light Rail Bar Hop Meetup! Cool!

FYI - LightRailblogger is keeping us on top of his carfree adventures. And being carfree in #PHX is a huge undertaking.

Back on the Grid - News Roundup

Whew, two weeks since I've posted! Shameful, it tis. But that's holidays with families for you (take note: single folks out there). Kids and relatives and friends get facetime that online world normally gets. Ce la vie. It's all good.

Things I've read and learned recently:
- TV still reigns as main news source for most Americans (I'm surprised!), though Web news grows and grows...
"TV still takes first place as a news source, claiming 70% share in 2008--but that's down from 74% in 2007, and a peak of 82% in 2002. Significantly, the percentage is lower among adults under the age of 30, who have taken to Internet news enthusiastically. Fifty-nine percent of respondents in this age bracket said TV news was their primary source, while an identical percentage tapped the Internet. That's a big change from 2007, when 68% of people under the age of 30 choose TV, versus just 34% for the Internet."

- Smart people know that social media is great for customer engagement, but to what results and to what costs are businesses willing to go? Here's a starting point of that conversation. (via Mashable)

- BusinessWeek covers the 'blogging for dollars' controversy from earlier this month (case study being Chris Brogan's Kmart posting for cash). In the article, 'tis written:
"Brogan clearly disclosed that the Kmart post was paid for. The post had positive and negative remarks about shopping at Kmart. "They didn't ask me to write anything specific," Brogan says. "I'm sure Kmart didn't like that I wrote I wouldn't wear any of the clothes in their store."
We got a second opinion from Robert Scoble, another blogger. Scoble is renowned for his vast connections online (more than 44,000 people follow his remarks on Twitter). "On one level I don't mind pay per post, because as long as you're disclosing, your readers will know you're selling out your editorial like an advertorial," he says."

Death to the Embargo? Twitter wins!

If you've been following the scuttlebutt about PR embargoes over at TechCrunch and Mahalo this week, it's clear that Twitter is the answer.

Scoble wrote in the comments:
"If I were in PR I’d just Twitter the news, link to a blog explaining it, include a video on how it is being used/designed, and then work with journalists and bloggers I trust to get the inside story."

BAM! Right there is the key to PR success in today's fast-paced world. That would absolutely be my MO. Use your network to distribute, make sure the news is valid and newsworthy, and get all your blog-video ducks in a row. Right on, Robert Scoble.

Joost video app going away - all videos streaming at their site

Emails today from Joost, the beleagured video service launched a few years back from the Skype founders, read:

"In October, we introduced our new website – Joost.com. With our new website, you're able to watch all of our videos – TV shows, music videos, and films – right in your web browser. At this point, we have decided to discontinue our original Joost software application. As of Friday, Dec. 19th, you will no longer be able to watch videos in the Joost software application – but you will be able to find all of our videos, and more, on Joost.com."

I used to love the idea of Joost - its application was pretty cool - until I sat down to watch all the channels and realized I didn't really want to watch BMX-styled music and action videos. Content, baby, content!

Alleyinsider had an interesting summer 2008 interview with Joost CEO Mike Volpi, who said in it "The world has migrated from an exclusive model of content distribution to a non-exclusive model. Our view is that content is available in a lot of places, but by packaging it and merchandizing it better, hopefully we will be a better place to come to. As people come to us, the content owners will say "I'm not going to upload this to 25 places" -- they won't be bothered -- "I'm just going to upload it two or three places." That will give us an advantage -- not because we have contractual exclusivity, but because it's a place people like to go to."

Let's hope the non-exclusive online model works for them. The market may finally be shaping up for Joost to take advantage of the increased interest in online video for digital marketing. Until then, its an uphill battle against YouTube, Hulu, Veoh and other online video streamers.

Mashable Open Web Awards Announced

The votes have been cast, and the results have been churned out - Mashable announces winners in its annual Open Web awards.

Lots of companies and small sites listed that I need to learn more about - if you have any interest in communications, PR, marketing and the social web, click through and immerse yourself into the strange new worlds of the Open Web.

I delivered the Chicago Daily News on my bicycle

I was a newspaper boy. It was one of the few jobs an 8-yr. old growing up in the 1970s could get in Chicago. My mom used to help me rubber band the Chicago Today and Chicago Daily News papers together, we'd load 'em up in the canvas sack the newspaper company distributor provided, and she sent me off on my bike to fling papers at front porches around the neighborhood.

I got paid for this work when I went around the homes every two weeks to 'collect' the cash due. I don't remember what I got back then, but it couldn't have been much. And of course, who would've thought back then that people today would be getting their news on handheld devices? No one.

Many have written of the imminent demise of all printed newspapers, and the news yesterday about the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News limiting home delivery to Thursday-Sunday was another nail in the coffin. "Even by industry standards, the Detroit newspapers have been hit particularly hard due to the effects of the troubled auto industry on Michigan's economy. Weekday circulation has declined 15% at the Free Press and 22% at the News over the past five years, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulation." But Newsosaur (great title, that) reported that the move wasn't a strategic shift to online, though - it was a desperation play to stay in business. Scary, isn't it?

Remember the old water wall that the lil' Dutch boy plugged up with his fingers to stem the tide? That's today's newspaper business. If Detroit is failing hard in print and only exists online, would we be shocked when the same happens to LA Times, NY Times, Chicago Sun-Times and others?

No more mainstream media excesses!

One of my pet peeves with mainstream media over the past few years has been its tendency to interview others in media about itself. Numerous cases abound, for example, in recent political coverage, celebrity coverage and even business coverage. In particular are the instances where media goes overboard in a 'tear down' of a previously anointed saint, then it does this turnabout handwringing about whether it went too far or became too intrusive (OJ, Britney, Paris Hilton, et al).

Social media outlets promised more of a balanced even level of workmanship, but I'm starting to see instances of this media-to-media blathering creeping into Twitter tweets and blog posts, where much of the internal discussion is based around other leading social media A-lister blog posts or tweets. I've not the inclination right now to dig out some links, but you know they're out there.

And I ask: Is it necessary? Aren't there other avenues to explore, new items to push for, courageous ideas to submit? Let's try to have more of a social media online generation that thinks more for itself, without resorting to the tired-ass ways of earlier media machinations.

12/15 update: Don Reisinger at CNET has also become a 'somewhat critical and cynical user' of social networks - Read about his rants on social networking quirks.

Local Phoenix Fundraiser - Bizarre Bazaar

For those of you in greater Phoenix, AZ, think about coming out tonight to the Bizarre Bazaar Benefit. I'll be there, along with lots of cool designers and artists, some selling their wares for Christmas gift-giving. A few local musicians will be rockin' out throughout the evening as well.

New MediaBistro Podcast

Folks in PR and marketing-media circles who religiously read MediaBistro's morning emails should be pretty happy with the launch of a podcast geared around it. Always good stuff within.

From their announcement: "mediabistro.com is launching a new audio podcast based around the mediabistro.com Morning Newsfeed and mediabistro.com blog network. The Morning Media Menu is broadcast live each morning, Monday-Friday at 9amET, on BlogTalkRadio.com. TVNewser's Steve Krakauer and FishbowlNY's Glynnis MacNicol host, with special guests appearing periodically."

Here's the first one below:

What are you watching online? Hulu? YouTube? Veoh?

I'm not a big TV guy. I tend not to turn on the TV at home. Rarely if ever. Maybe a DVD on occasion. I find myself clicking over to Hulu more often than not to watch current episodes of my few fave programs (The Office, Colbert, Stewart, et al) when I get the chance. Music clips and docs at YouTube, but current programming from Hulu and Veoh.



Centernetworks reports that Hulu's latest ComScore numbers jumped up to 235 million videos viewed in October, a sizeable increase from the previous month. Of course, the big gorilla in the room is still YouTube, which saw 100 million U.S. online video viewers in October.

But Hulu also showed longer viewing times,according to Mashable writer Adam Ostrow, meaning better opps to sell ads: "On the plus side for Hulu, the average video was viewed for 11.6 minutes, best amongst the video sites tracked by comScore. That’s not surprising given Hulu’s mix of TV and movie content, but it also means Hulu has more ad inventory to sell than the raw viewer numbers would lead you to believe."

The end of the Hefner era at Playboy

I share a birth date with Playboy empire founder Hugh Hefner (April 9th - Aries). Because of that, I've also felt a kinship with the guy (if not always his empire). And today, I read that his daughter Christie, who became the head of his company twenty years ago, aims to step down at the end of January.

Marketwatch reports that Hef chimed in for the release: "For his part, Christie Hefner's father Hugh said he asked his daughter to "step up as president when the company faced serious financial difficulties more than two decades ago," and that as the result of her efforts, "the company today has more consumers and fans than at any time in our history."

Vote in the TechCrunch Crunchies - Deadline Wednesday

Here's your chance to weigh in with your favorites in the TechCrunch Crunchies awards.



Choose the deserving companies, organizations, entrepreneurs and others in the following categories...

Best Technology Innovation/Achievement - Recognition for best new technology achievement or breakthrough of 2008

Best Bootstrapped Startup - For a company that has raised less than $100,000 cumulatively from individuals, angels or others

Best New Gadget/Device - For the best new Internet-accessible electronics device launched in 2008

Best Design - Recognition for best user-interface design

Best Enterprise - For a company focused on enterprise or business-to-business applications and services

Best Mobile - For companies who provide mobile content or mobile distribution platforms

Best International - To recognize a company outside the United States (company must be founded, headquartered and operated primarily outside the US)

Best Clean Tech - For companies focused on environmentally conscious technology applications

Best App - For the best application distributed across third-party platform(s)

Best Time Sink Site - Favorite site to use when you're not working or not wanting to think about work

Most Likely To Make The World A Better Place - To recognize a site that is making an important social impact in the world. Site does not need to be a non-profit to qualify.

Best Startup Founder - Award to recognize an exemplary start-up business founder for accomplishments in 2008

Best Startup CEO - Award to recognize an exemplary start-up business CEO for accomplishments in 2008

Best Overall - For the best overall company, site or product of 2008 - Product must have launched in 2008

The Four Cs of Social Media

Chris Heuer, founder of Social Media Club, presented recently to a California leadership group and offered up the Four C's of Social Media within it:
- Context
- Communications
- Collaborations
- Connections
...in a world of conversation, where 'spin' doesn't work, in which advertising matters less and people want to talk to PEOPLE, not marketing and PR professionals. Worth a look for new insights form one of the key folks in its world.

(Ed: Does this mean I need to change my LinkedIn description to 'Person'?? - oh, the conundrums of our new online world!)

Thanks to Francine Hardaway for the link

CNBC's 'The Big Idea' on hiatus

I'm not entirely sure about the programming decision on this one, but CNBC's 'The Big Idea' with Donny Deutsch has been put on hiatus (read: not canceled). Allegedly, as TV Newser reports, "An insider with knowledge of the situation tells TVNewser the idea of a "success show" is not right in this economic climate."

I say, HUH??%#&#?? I think people right now (as much as in the last four years since the show started) need to hear MORE success stories from entrepreneurs who followed their dreams and passions and created successful new entities. Many viewers could find inspiration, I'm sure, in their stories of challenges, mistakes, blind luck and beating the odds.

Or maybe Donny's just burnt out and needed a break, and used the recession as a wool puller for a few months. Who knows the real machinations behind cable news TV?

What's next in Mobile Wireless? You decide!

Now this seems a good initiative on the surface - TechCrunch today reports on Vodafone's launch of a Wireless Innovation Challenge to find the next wireless technology to save the world. Non-profits and university connected types can check their eligibility here and then move forward with applications to win cash awards.

But why (as others point out in the comments at the links) limit participation to just those selected groups? Why can't an ASU student in Tempe have the next game-changing idea for wireless? Seems odd to have those restrictions.

So I'll put it to you - what would you like to see as a next step in wireless innovation? Drop a note into the comments below.

Parties, parties, parties

The Zombies once sang "It's the Time of the Season....when love runs high." Not sure if Rod Argent was referring to holiday celebrations, but if the show fits...?



- Just heard that tonight's IABC holiday soiree is still accepting walkups (walkons?) to its event, which promises... "a chance to bid on some magnificent silent auction items amidst one of the most breathtaking and must-see venues in the state."

- Last call for tonight's AZ Tech Council After5 fiesta - It's being held at Waypoint Technologies, which will be giving away a GPS System as a door prize. $20 for non-members.

- AZ Central's Metromix has its launch party tonight - open bar from 8pm-10pm or until supplies dry - looks to be fun - I've used Metromix a lot recently.

- Dec 13th brings a Microsoft XBox360 party for IT Managers, IT Professionals, Developers, Architects and other interested #phx developer community. I see soda and pizza, and definitely lots of gaming in attendees' futures. Free.

Humanize the Brand!

PHX-PRSCT swell guy and smart strategist Jason Baer writes terrificly over at Marketing Profs Daily about his seven must-haves for a client's social media strategy.

Most important one (in my eyes) is humanizing the brand - Jason writes..."Why do consumers love social media? Because it puts them on a more equal footing with brands that have been historically shrouded, impersonal and aloof. If your social media strategy doesn't put a literal or figurative face on your brand in one or many ways, you're missing the point."

Exactly. Strip away the protective barriers around your brand and reach out to speak to customers and brand influencers. By being active and available as a brand entity, your customers will get a more rounded view of who you are and how your products are valuable to them.

Sphinn added to Faves

Wanted to shout out a link in My 'Faves' column at left for Sphinn, which writes about itself as "a social site for search and interactive marketers. It's designed to allow you to share and discover news stories, read and take part in discussions, discover events of interest and network with others."

Works for me. Looking forward to making Sphinn a daily read.

Bad News Media Day - AZ Republic more cuts

Ain't no holiday fun for media types this season! Ouch! New Times Phoenix reporter Ray Stern confirms major layoffs at the Arizona Republic, the state's largest newspaper.



Among the cut are online content producers, senior editors, regional edition editors, photographers and others. This new round of cuts follows a September streamlining of experienced talent from the paper.

Sad day all around, as the Federal Reserve concluded in a just-released report that "Economic activity weakened across all Federal Reserve districts."

"We've seen things fall off a cliff," said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "Everybody - consumers and businesses - are just freezing."

AZ Republic calls Downtown Phoenix rising

AZ Central reports that more folks are moving to downtown Phoenix to make it more of a breathing, 24-hr living community. For those already living there, it's a non-news story. For those PHX suburbanites who avoid downtown like the plague (for whatever age-old biases that may have once been true years ago), it's also a non-news story.

But for those of us (like me) who do my best to get down to the museums and bars and First Fridays, it's another sign that the world is watching, so to speak. I'm lucky to know a few downtown Phoenix residents who are happy to call it home and create cool community events. God bless 'em.

This isn't a direct comparison, but this story about reviving downtown is not miles away from the NY Times stories I used to read while living in Lower Manhattan over the past decade. That area too is mostly deserted at night, and looking for bars and restaurants to drive people into the area. Battery Park City is a fine neighborhood, but it's more purely residential. The Wall-St/John St. area has show signs of life in recent years, but the recent financial meltdown on Wall Street may have an adverse impact on neighborhood living there.

MidWeek Media Melange

Lots of interesting tidbits flying online this week - here are a few.

- Should we call it 'social media' or 'social software'? MediaShift Idea Lab's Rich Gordon thinks 'social software' is the way to go. "I'm using the term "social software" because the more popular "social media" increasingly feels like an oxymoron. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Digg aren't media. Media refers to one-way communication -- like publishing or broadcasting. Today's social sites are, fundamentally, computer programs -- software that determines what users can (and can't) do, and that establishes structures through which people interact."

- NYTimes.com and Allbusiness.com - "For the long term, the value for marketing on social networking sites may be simply the ability to reach niche groups via advertising. Most of these sites have targeted text advertising with fees in reach of small businesses. LinkedIn's fees can be as low as $5 for 1,000 impressions and allow users to set a budget. Advertisers can choose two of seven criteria to target, including geography, industry, seniority, and company size."
(via Jeremiah Omyang's cool Social Media Digest)

- CIO.com offers up its five dos and donts for Facebook etiquette. Much of this shoul;d be common knowledge by now, but there's always something to learn. Key tip? "Posting personal picture slideshows is fine - again, within reason. You clearly want to avoid the aforementioned pitfalls of displaying shots of wild revelry. But for all the agony about what's acceptable and what's not, remember that offering contacts a decent glimpse into what makes you you can have business benefits. "It strengthens relationships," Dixson says. "It really helps establish connections. People like to do business with people they know."

Outsourced journalism? It's here.

You think journalism is all about local reporting and writing? Think again.

A Pasadena,Calif. publisher has been outsourcing his reporting and article writing to writers in ....India? Yep, tis true. I read about this earlier this year on a journalist listserv I'm on, and now Maureen Dowd (NY Times columnist) has provided an update on how it's all working out.

"He fired his seven Pasadena staffers — including five reporters — who were making $600 to $800 a week, and now he and his wife direct six employees all over India on how to write news and features, using telephones, e-mail, press releases, Web harvesting and live video streaming from a cellphone at City Hall.

“I pay per piece, just the way it was in the garment business,” he says. “A thousand words pays $7.50.”

And there's more - people are catching onto this idea.

"At first the reaction to covering Pasadena from 8,000 miles away and 13.5 hours ahead was “absolutely brutal,” Macpherson recalled. Journalism professors keened and Larry Wilson, the public editor at The Pasadena Star-News, called it “nutty.”

But then in October, Dean Singleton, The Associated Press’s chairman and the head of the MediaNews Group — which counts The Pasadena Star-News, The Denver Post and The Detroit News in its stable of 54 daily newspapers — told the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association that his company was looking into outsourcing almost every aspect of publishing, including possibly having one news desk for all of his papers, “maybe even offshore.”

Fascinating stuff here - as a former journalism major who got out of reporting some years ago, I find it landscape-shifting. I reckon in the end, we'll see more local blogs and events sites like Yelp, Upcoming and more taking over duties that the local paper once had. What a technology shift we've seen over the last 10 years, eh?

Phoenix grows its business climate position - Marketwatch

Marketwatch ranks the Best 10 and Worst 10 cities to do business, and the bad news is that warm-weather towns (including some in AZ), partly due to the real estate troubles, have taken a business hit. Tucson ranks low in business looking to set up shop there.

Marketwatch writes..."warm-weather towns in bottom half: In addition to Miami, which ranked 40th, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Diego and Phoenix were in the 31-40 spots. Another Texas town, Austin, was 28th. The two fastest-growing cities in the nation, however, improved their lots. Top-grower Las Vegas moved out of the bottom 10 to reach the 38th spot. And Phoenix, second-fastest on that list, climbed four spots to reach 31st place."

And at the top? Minneapolis-St. Paul. Go figure.

Cyber Monday Update

How many of you shopped online yesterday? I did, hopefully helping our economy (although kids toys and wifely gifts may not account for much).

And thought it's still early, it looks like the traffic numbers for online shopping were much higher than over last year. ZDnet writes... "This year, the traffic peaked around 3 p.m. ET, with 6.7 million global visitors per minute - a 46 percent jump over the peak of 4.6 million on Cyber Monday last year. Today’s peak traffic also exceeded Black Friday’s peak of 5.9 million and Sunday’s 6.5 million."

AZ Republic writes that Wii devices, iPods, laptops and more dominated the purchases. But there's another way to shop this year - BUY LOCAL! Stimulate your local economy and purchase gifts from local web designers, artists and musicians. They will be grateful, and it just might mean one less mega-retail outlet to be built in your hometown.

Holiday Shopping Races - Who Wins, Loses?

Did the pent-up frustrations of shut-in shoppers explode this past weekend? Sure seems so - things looked busy on Friday and Saturday at mall and retail locations in Phoenix and Scottsdale, if my hands-on anecdotal research holds any deep discounts. In fact, the kid at Brookstone said they can't keep the ankle and calf-squeezing gizmo in stock.

But it may have been a small gift blip on the retail radar, according to pessimistic analysts like Stacey Widlitz, who was quoted in a MarketWatch piece as saying...""We do not believe that a strong opening weekend in retail means a strong holiday season for retail," said Pali Capital analyst Stacey Widlitz. "Shoppers were looking for the deepest possible discounts this year, given the state of the economy."



BusinessWeek cited a 3% growth in sales on Friday, but took a negative spin, citing that retailers offered deeper discounts to shoppers at the expense of profits. The story reads..."According to the National Retail Federation, shoppers spent an average $372.57 over the Black Friday weekend. That's alright, right? Seems more than what was spent during October and November for some folks...

What was your weekend shopping experience - upbeat and invigorating to our local economy? Or just a chance to grab some much needed shopping jujus? Drop a comment.