Costco Connection features Podcasting

You know podcasting is starting to hit the mainstream if Costco Connection is starting to cover it.

A really good article is in this months "Costco Connection" (yes, I'm an avid Costco shopper) about podcasting.

It's not available online yet, but I'll quote a couple interesting excerpts. When it becomes available, I'll link up.

It's a marketing tool that is paying off with new customers for Rightlook.com, says Stephen Powers, a Costco member and president of the San Dieo-based company. Rightlook.com's salesforce refers customers to its podcast library as part of it's sales pitch.

"In many cases, we've documented where customers will call us back and make a purcahse after spending hours listening to our podcasts the night before," says Powers. "They make a commitment and see that we are the right company to choose."

Podcasting acts as a silent sales force, Powers adds. "It increases the effectiveness of our sales force, so, in a way, it replaces hiring some new sales staff. You've got this extra tool that helps us increase our sales and profits."

UPDATE: Here is the link to the article

Marsedit is amazing

Best blogging interface, possibly ever. Makes it SOOOO much easier.

Bless you, Red Sweater Software, each and every one of you. :-)

Podcasts and Personal Branding

I have been hearing more and more people talk about using podcasts as a tool for personal branding - I couldn't agree more.

You, like radio in some ways, can get right into your audiences' head and they can develop and affinity and connection for you. However - here is the big key - it's NOT a commercial.

Remember, give to get.

Iterotext.com is Launched

We're proud to announce the launch of the new website for Iterotext, a multilingual document translation company in Troy, Michigan.

Thanks to Erik Drader and Ryan Poling for all their help on this one, as well as to Beverly Cornell for being what could only be called a model client, delivering everything on time and on spec so we could do our job well.

Here is the link to the press release on their site.

RIAA Raises Rates on Internet Broadcasters - If Implemented, Will Change The Face of Internet Media

So I heard a very interesting item from Leo Laporte's TWiT Network and Buzz Out Loud - that the RIAA is going to increase the rate per listener for streaming radio by as much as three fold.

This could have some very interesting implications. But I think it's going to play out in one of a few ways - or even, a combination thereof.

1) Internet Radio Will Die. I don't necessarily buy this concept. People are resourceful.

2) It will evolve, and it will either evolve to:
a) Charge more for their advertising and add value to the proposition so advertisers pay more (actually, very possible - in general, I find people do not charge enough for the value of their content)
b) Carry indie artists or artists on a new breed of labels who are open to digital media (such as my beloved Barenaked Ladies).

Arbitron shows a strong adoption of internet radio - and I understand why. It has less commercials, it can have higher quality, and you can get whatever station you want, when you want (see a theme here on the internet?) and it doesn't have the same barrier to entry that podcasting has - although, we've mitigated it, it's still a bit confusing for some because of it's nomenclature.

The RIAA could very well be shooting themselves in the foot - internet media skews young, and that's where they get the kids to get into the music. However, the RIAA for the past few years has been in a freak-out dance, trying to save a dying business model and they're trying to apply all the old rules to a new game - because that's all that they understand. It's like taking the rules of the game "Monopoly" and applying them to "Hungry Hungry Hippos." It just doesn't work.

Footnote: There is a whole new business evolving in podsafe music - because the labels charge obscene amounts of money per download to use their music. It's in the early stages, but in time, it will continue to evolve and grow.

Comerica leaves downtown

Another hit for downtown Detroit - Comerica moving it's corporate HQ.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070306/BUSINESS06/70306018

I am completely convinced that this is only harbinger of more leaving. It's 200 now for political reasons, but I fully believe following the logic in this article it's presence will be shrinking downtown.

Between this, various ad agencies (JWT and Brogen) leaving or left Detroit, it's not a good sign.

However, Comerica leaving is NOT a Detroit-is-bad issue, it's a Michigan-is-not-growing issue. We need to realize that we must band together, embracing small business and entrepreneurship (which this area needs to do more of) and not let these items get us down.

In many ways, the whole region feels "depressed." And understandably so - but this could be the greatest opportunity we have to reinvent ourselves.

Article on e-mail and the dangers of over-reliance on electronic communication

I was forwarded this and thought it interesting because sometimes people do not appreciate the value of a face-to-face meeting, with so many things being done "virtually."

There are clients (you know who you are) who have never actually met us in the flesh - which I always find interesting, even though I am fully aware of the "power of the internet" and the like - I look forward to meeting them.

Hat tip to Newsweek.

Anyway, check this out...

Despite the ease with which we can shoot off electronic messages to a co-worker or client, limiting the use of e-mail in business communications is a good idea, according to Diane Bradys article, *!#@ The E-Mail. Can We Talk? in the December 2006 issue of NEWSWEEK.

The article highlights three dangers of our over-reliance on electronic business communications:

CREATIVE MELTDOWN
The fluid exchange and building on ideas that comes from people gathered in a room doesn't happen in the time-delayed world of e-mail volleyball. When the CEO of a company in Georgia suspected e-mail was hurting productivity and sales, he banned its use on Fridays. One-on-one interaction between his 275 employees and with clients quickly improved. The company's use of e-mail eventually dropped by more than 80%.

MISINTERPRETATION
A New York University study showed that fewer than half the population actually grasps the tone or intent of electronic messages, and that most people overestimate their ability to accurately state what they mean. Syracuse University professor Kristin Byron is cited in Brady's article as finding that misinterpretation is highest when it comes from the boss.

FACELESS HUMANITY
Those of us who stare at a computer screen day in and day out sometimes feel more like machines than humans. Meaningful relationships don't happen online they require face-to-face, voice-to-voice communication. Phone calls, handwritten notes, even an inside joke shared over a cubicle wall, go a long way in forging friendships, team spirit, and long-term client relationships.

E-mail clearly has benefits, but when it comes to building stronger, longer relationships, stepping away from your keyboard or blackberry to flash a smile and share a handshake gives you an up-close and personal advantage, creates stronger memory "hooks" in your brain, and makes you feel better, too.

Podcasting Story on NPR

Interesting piece I heard this morning on Morning Edition - about podcasting, and who makes money doing podcasting.

And, I think it has a fair look - however, it also talks about the toolmakers and people who create podcasts making money, much like the goldrush.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7711156