(I don't know about this blogging "phenomenon." Maybe not everyone -- present company excluded, natch -- should have a blog, but people who are in the media a lot should really consider a blog. Even if ghostwritten, it's probably the best way they have to control "spin" on their own stories; newspapers and magazines have a product to push, so they probably don't care as much about the story as the subject who's getting covered.

Take Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, for instance. Lots of old-school owners want to say that Mark Cuban is just some young, upstart whack-job who got lucky in the dotcom boom and bailed on it before the bust, with carloads of cash, but as I've been perusing Cuban's blog recently, he comes across as a young, upstart whack-job who's also a pretty solid, innovation-minded businessman, always focused on improving the essential parts of his operation. In the case of the NBA, obviously, that essence is the "player." And in that light, what he has to say about taking hard fouls -- and their effect on his investments, the players -- is really interesting. He's a fan ... who also happens to be an owner, and he's got a weblog. Boo-yah! )

« 3:24:28 PM »    

(It remains to be seen if all the "big" musical acts have the same kind of vision -- and prolific creative vault -- that Prince does, because they should all be selling direct to fans. Cut out the middlemen. The RIAA has been pretty successful in tarring all music fans with the same "criminal" brush. But in the case of established artists, like a Prince, if the talent steps up and invites us into their corner, why do you need a record company at all? They can do nothing but jack the price up. The "brand" already exists in the case of an established artist; we just want to hear the chords. Only problem with Prince's site: all Windows Media. Feh! On second thought, it would stink if all of the "big" acts did start selling to fans, but ended up locking out a large segment of their audience through short-sighted and exclusive technology choices. )

« 12:24:07 PM »    

((I love how a unit like News.com, with seeming hope to be taken seriously as a media authority tries to obtain a cool pose by ripping off street slang: 'mo money?' WTF? But I digress.) As with any "emerging" technology, if the market leaders blow it, and don't make it easy for the early-adopters, they can take the teeming masses that are yearning to blog but have yet to be told that fact (i.e. receive targeted marketing), and kiss them goodbye. It should be as easy to post a picture to your blog as it is to post text. WTF are those knuckleheads doing with their APIs? Why aren't photoblogging capabilities already getting baked into MT, Radio, and similar blogging tools? Opportunity. )

« 11:36:57 AM »