Skypecasting with Chris Anderson

Below are some notes and comments regarding a recent Skypecast with Wired editor and author Chris Anderson. Anderson is currently on tour promoting his new book, The Long Tail, which explains an interesting phenomenon in the current economy.

Background: the interview took place Monday July 25, 2006 at 1:30 P.M. Anderson was in L.A. on his book tour. He was interviewed by TypePad General Manager Michael Sippey. There were approximately 50 people listening to the Skypecast, which, in itself, proves that the “long tail” is a very real thing.

What I learned:

1. The “long tail” is described by Anderson as “life after the blockbuster.” Until recently, most people looked at the "left side of the graph," the best sellers and the big hits. Anderson compiled a lot of information, studied the data and looked at how big the demand was for niche items in comparison.

2. There is great demand for these niche items, evidenced by sales on iTunes, Netflix, Rhapsody, etc. These companies can aggregate all the smaller items and offer the consumer infinite shelf space. Technology makes it possible to carry everything at very little or no cost. Blogs are a perfect example of providing content or information to small interest groups.

3. The Long Tail does not rule out blockbusters and big selling items. As an example, Anderson shows you can operate in both paradigms. He is the editor of a major magazine, Wired (with broad appeal) and runs a separate blog where he writes and offers research on "the long tail" (narrow appeal).

4. How can niches compete with the big companies? Anderson explains that you need to offer something the Wal Marts don’t have. Example -- have an online bookstore that only deals in science fiction.

Interview

Podcast

Alternative to Craigslist

I started looking for an alternative to Craigslist last week and found Google Base. I'm interested to know from anyone who stumbles on this post if they've had any luck with this.

Chris Anderson Skypecast - July 24, 2006

If you have questions about the "long tail" phenomenon (mentioned in a previous posting) you'll want to catch this upcoming Skypecast interview with Wired editor Chris Anderson. For more information, you can go to the Skypecast blog.

Master of Language: George Carlin

Here's someone who has really taken the time to undertand the complexities of modern language. As you'll see in this video, (courtesy of YouTube) George Carlin also has an amazing memory.

Free Press Releases?

Through some random Internet searching the other day, I came across a site which offers a way to get press releases out to all the major search engines. I have not used the service so I can't tell you how effective it is, but it might be worth a look. As they say:

"We want to help newsmakers - artists, authors, business professionals, designers, developers, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, musicians, retailers, and all other types of newsmakers - get free media exposure."

Do it Yourself Pay-Per-View

I've got a bit of breaking news to share. Two guys I've been working with from FaceBridge Research are on to something that could really explode. In the interest of full disclosure, I hope it does. But, this is something really practical and.... cool. Let's say you're a tutor, or other professional, or a band, or lawyer or whatever. You have a message or song you want to get out to the public. You know your service or message / song is valuable. Now, thanks to Facebridge, you can broad or narrow-cast this direcly from you computer. When you're done, they (the audience of 1 to many) gets a bill and you get paid. Yes, it's that simple!

My small contribution was a report on the viability of this invention in the educational market. The full report is now available over at FaceBridge.

For the full presentation on this product and the potential markets, go here.

Grow your brain in just 48 hours

Not satisfied with the current capacity of your brain? Try growing it.

"In 1967, brain pioneer Marian Diamond, a University of California at Berkeley neuroanatomist, discovered an amazing malleability to the brain (Diamond 1967). Her studies - and subsequent research by dozens of colleagues - have changed the way we think about our brains. The brain can literally grow new connections with environmental stimulation. Diamond says, 'When we enriched the environment, we got brains with a thicker cortex, more dendritic branching, more growth spines and larger cell bodies' (Healy 1990, p. 47). This means the brain cells communicate better with one another. There are more support cells, too. This can happen within 48 hours after the stimulation."

Source: Teaching With the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen.

Image credit: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/

Studies Suggest Starting Career Search Earlier

The following is contributed by guest writer - Courtney Webb, M.A.

The relatively new field of career exploration for youth is on the verge of taking off. Children as young as 9 years of age have surprising amounts of information on "what they want to do." The trick is really in tapping into the child's own inner visions, creating a global career goal and thereafter, supplying the young 'client' with educational information and learning opportunities that will allow them to refine their initial goals. There is no reason a student cannot have fairly well defined career goals by the time they are in high school. Also, research indicates that students who are not 'plugged in' with some general goal in mind by the time they are 13 years old; are in much greater risk of getting involved with drugs, alcohol and of becoming school dropouts. So, let the floundering stop, and let the clarity begin with assessments and advisement for your son or daughter.

If you are interested in the E-WOW, Holland Code Assessment, learning more about natural preferences in the world of work, or finding educational programs to fit you or your child's personality type, contact Courtney Webb directly.

Phone: 916-955-2466

E-mail: courtne@earthlink.net

King of the who?

As you’re going through your day, remember that “supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.” Below is a lesson in government from the writers of Monty Python, excerpted from The Holy Grail. As much as I’d like to be the first to use this bit as a way to introduce students to government, the idea has already been used. I credit Todd Millick with reminding me of the sketch. One of his professors at UC Davis actually showed students the movie clip as an introduction to his government class. Anarcho-syndacalism, by the way, is a real term and is explained here.

Source: Monty Python's Completely Useless Website

ARTHUR: Old woman!

DENNIS: Man!

ARTHUR: Man. Sorry. What knight live in that castle over there?

DENNIS: I'm thirty-seven.

ARTHUR: I-- what?

DENNIS: I'm thirty-seven. I'm not old.

ARTHUR: Well, I can't just call you 'Man'.

DENNIS: Well, you could say 'Dennis'.

ARTHUR: Well, I didn't know you were called 'Dennis'.

DENNIS: Well, you didn't bother to find out, did you?

ARTHUR: I did say 'sorry' about the 'old woman', but from the behind you looked—

DENNIS: What I object to is that you automatically treat me like an inferior!

ARTHUR: Well, I am king!

DENNIS: Oh king, eh, very nice. And how d'you get that, eh? By exploiting the workers! By 'anging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society. If there's ever going to be any progress with the—

WOMAN: Dennis, there's some lovely filth down here. Oh! How d'you do?

ARTHUR: How do you do, good lady. I am Arthur, King of the Britons. Who's castle is that?

WOMAN: King of the who?

ARTHUR: The Britons.

WOMAN: Who are the Britons?

ARTHUR: Well, we all are. We are all Britons, and I am your king.

WOMAN: I didn't know we had a king. I thought we were an autonomous collective.

DENNIS: You're fooling yourself. We're living in a dictatorship. A self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working classes—

WOMAN: Oh, there you go, bringing class into it again.

DENNIS: That's what it's all about. If only people would hear of--

ARTHUR: Please, please good people. I am in haste. Who lives in that castle?

WOMAN: No one live there.

ARTHUR: Then who is your lord?

WOMAN: We don't have a lord.

ARTHUR: What?

DENNIS: I told you. We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.

ARTHUR: Yes.

DENNIS: But all the decision of that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting—

ARTHUR: Yes, I see.

DENNIS: By a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs,--

ARTHUR: Be quiet!

DENNIS: But by a two-thirds majority in the case of more major—

ARTHUR: Be quiet! I order you to be quiet!

WOMAN: Order, eh? Who does he think he is? Heh.

ARTHUR: I am your king!

WOMAN: Well, I didn't vote for you.

ARTHUR: You don't vote for kings.

WOMAN: Well, how did you become king then?

ARTHUR: The Lady of the Lake,... [angels sing]...her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. [singing stops]That is why I am your king!

DENNIS: Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

ARTHUR: Be quiet!

DENNIS: Well, but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!

ARTHUR: Shut up!

DENNIS: I mean, if I went 'round saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!

ARTHUR: Shut up, will you. Shut up!

DENNIS: Ah, now we see the violence inherent in the system.

ARTHUR: Shut up!

DENNIS: Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Help, help!I'm being repressed!

ARTHUR: Bloody peasant!

DENNIS: Oh, what a give-away. Did you hear that? Did you hear that, eh? That's what I'm on about. Did you see him repressing me? You saw it, didn't you?

Millions of Niches

Read about the "Theory of the Long Tail" and the new marketplace here.

"The Long Tail article (and the forthcoming book) is about the big-picture consequence of this: how our economy and culture is shifting from mass markets to million of niches. It chronicles the effect of the technologies that have made it easier for consumers to find and buy niche products, thanks to the "infinite shelf-space effect"--the new distribution mechanisms, from digital downloading to peer-to-peer markets, that break through the bottlenecks of broadcast and traditional bricks and mortar retail."

If you go to Chris Anderson's blog (link above) there is an interesting article on the "new" Al Gore.

Image credit: The Long Tail (blog)

Dr. Katz is alive and well

I don’t know if this form of therapy is practiced anywhere but it’s not a bad idea. The client uses his session as a way to try out new material – humor. In the case of Dr. Katz, he just sat there, mostly with a blank look on his face, giving just enough feedback to keep the comic going. If you like the dry kind of humor, this is great television. In this clip, on YouTube, Dr. Katz's son has a talk with him.

Simplicity = unlearning and synthesis.

In the recent “Changethis,” (changethis.com) Dan Ward does some writing about the problems of complexity and over-thinking.

Click on the title above to go to the article.

Here are some highlights and notes:

1. There is a “complexity on the other side of understanding.”

In other words, people can often go too far in trying to develop an idea. Solution: peel back the layers to get to what is good and what works.

2. Complexity and goodness are not always directly proportional.

“Here we find the learned academician who everyone assumes is brilliant because no one can understand a word he says. In fact, his academics may simply be overcomplicated and have very limited goodness.”

3. To remedy the problem, Ward recommends “unlearning and synthesis.”

“To begin moving in this direction, we must learn a few new skills and forget some old ones. In place of learning and genesis, which served us well on the trip between Simplisticness and Complexity, we must now master a skillset that includes things like unlearning and synthesis.”

4. Reduce the design to basic components.

“The idea is to prune and pare down the design, reducing it to the essential components."

“For a more academically rigorous approach, we can look to Genrich Altshuller’s Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, which identified something called the law of ideality. This law states that as systems mature, they tend to become more reliable, simpler, and more effective—more ideal. This law goes onto explain that the amount of complexity in a system is a measure of how far away it is from its ideal state. Interestingly, Altshuller postulates that upon reaching perfect ideality, the mechanism itself no longer exists. Only the function remains; the various components have been simplified to zero.”

5. Experiencing complexity is an important step.

“One cannot usually jump directly from simplistic to simple, skipping complexity entirely. The initial increase in complexity is as crucial to maximizing goodness as the later decrease in complexity.”

“We have now replaced what Albert Schweitzer called ‘naive simplicity’ with a ‘profound simplicity.’ This is done by pursuing synthesis rather than genesis and goodness rather than complexity.”

The Frustration of Being a Creative Generalist

If you're looking for a job, whether online or in a newspaper, one thing you won't see advertised is a position for a "creative generalist." After reading this piece (below) by Dr. Terry Rock, I know now that I'm not the only one who recognizes this fact. With the writings of Daniel Pink, Thomas Friedman and others, I hope this changes.

"The whole thing is worth reading, but one thing I face, and I know others face, is how to translate generalism into organizational reality. For example… finding a job as a generalist is difficult because there really isn’t “a place on most org charts and [generalists] are frequently told by HR that they’re smart but ‘we wouldn’t know where to put you.’” The flipside is running an organization that “gets” the need for generalists, but faces constant pressure to specialize."

Dr. Rock is referring to an essay written by Steve Hardy regarding creative generalism. I wrote about that piece here. You can also find the original essay at Steve Hardy's blog.