(wo)Man
The End Times Are Nigh? My Magic 8 Ball Says “Signs Point To Yes”
I’m prone to saying we are in the “end-times” and “something’s up.” Many around me (my wife most notably) roll their eyes when I do. Every now and then they even convince me, for a few fleeting moments, that I’m being “weird” and “overly-sensitive.” As you wish. I just tried for the third and final [...]
A War of Words Between Generations
I picked up the two longest living of the “Noonan 4″ from dance class the other night. They asked me to change the station on the car radio from sports talk to music. After initial resistance, I capitulated but insisted we listen to music I like. ‘XRT was playing Bruce Springsteen’s “Promise Land.” Not terrible, [...]
Two Lonely Beasties They Be
It seems as though if you were a white, skinny teen or pre-teen in the 80s (or was I the only one?), MCA played a role in your youth. I can’t think of anyone who wasn’t blown away with the Beasties and Run D.M.C. when they took the world, thanks to MTV, by storm. The [...]
Marketing
(Anti) Social Media-The Downward Spiral To Incivility
How do you use social media? You have a choice in the matter, you know. Is your persona there a force for good, or evil? Or, perhaps worse, neither? Are you a victim or a super hero online? I hope you will create your own reality online. Start today. Facebook and Twitter have replaced the [...]
“The Middle” Scores All-Time Low in Noon-sen Ratings
Keep Doing What You’ve Done and You’ll Keep Gettin’ What You Got. The TV show “The Middle”? It’s ok, I guess, but it’s a real mind-f@#! for me to see the wife from “Raymond” and the janitor from “Scrubs” raising a family. My kids get a kick out of the goofy looking kid on the [...]
Friday? I’m in Love…
Dont’ Fear The Reaper: Embrace Negativity. You can’t control it or stop it anyway, and it might just be the best thing that ever happened to you (or your business). Everyone from Tosh.O to Good Morning America (and most of the more than 21 million people who have viewed it) have weighed in this week on the [...]
Money
The Age of The $100k-a-year Receptionist Has Arrived
What do you pay your receptionist or the person who answers the phones in your business? Don’t bother answering, I know. She’s (not being sexist, but the first face who I see or speak to in 90% of the businesses I enter or call is a woman, so…I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em) the [...]
Hang Your Shingle, Come What May
Start Getting Noticed. Put “it” out there and you’d be surprised what happens. Sure your detracters will have a bigger target, but, again, if you give a shit what they think, you’re sunk in the first place anyway. Meanwhile, by NOT putting “it” out there because of insecurities, fear of reprisals, anxiety, whatever, you may miss some [...]
There’s An Old Man Sitting Next To Me, Making Love To His Tonic And Gin
The most effective networking happens in person, not online. (In the pre-smart phone era, face-to-face networking was known by the lamo term “Contact Sport” for a reason.) Until recently, it had been about a decade since I flew Southwest. I believe it was the carrier that ferried a 9 of my family and friends to [...]
Media
The Vicious Circle of Chicago’s Loop: Radio’s War On Its Best Brands Rages On
One of the cooler parts of Chicago’s entertainment scene over the past 3 decades, for my money, is 97.9 The Loop. I, like millions, grew up on it. In the 80s and 90s, it absolutely was cutting-edge entertainment. Radio was still in its glory then, and The Loop was at the heart of arguably America’s [...]
Projects
#1: Donny Osmond: Extreme Makeover Product Creation, Design, Development, Asset Sale. www.8TrackPlayback.com The Case: For decades, pop icon Donny Osmond was an internationally acclaimed super star on stages across the globe. In America, on radio, aside from a few notable hits in the 70s and one in the early 90s and routine ridicule from snarky [...]
Project: Blue Collar Radio
Since 2006, Broadcast Barter Radio Networks has proudly syndicated Blue Collar Radio: A 24/7 Country format specifically made for Men! Today’s country stations sound like Hot AC stations! When did this happen? Why did this happen? No self-respecting man we know wants to sit around listening to Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood (of course [...]
