Tim Westergren of Pandora as pictured by the New York Times.
I was very pleased this morning when I opened the New York Times to see a story about Pandora — the Web radio service, not the fictional planet — on the front page of the Business section. Better, it was a story about Pandora turning a major corner in its development, not a plea for survival as many media mentions had become over the years.
Tim Westergren, Pandora’s founder, is one of the good guys in the Internet music business, someone you root for because he had a great idea — creating the music genome project — and the vision to push for his company’s success. I’ve interviewed Westergren a few times and I’ve always enjoyed the exchange. Also, it’s no secret I’m a fan of Pandora.
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I had an interesting conversation with Jim Donio after I posted a blog about children’s music mom and dad would like. Donio is the president of NARM, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, a group made of of music industry executives and retailers.
NARM occasionally holds its annual conference in Chicago, an event I’ve covered in the past. (One of my favorite columns came from the 2007 convention, a talk with 80’s pop star and now mobile phone innovator Thomas Dolby.) I was talking to Donio about the agenda for the 2010 NARM convention (in Chicago from May 14th to 17th — Bendable Media may participate in some form) when I asked his thoughts about kids music parents would like.
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I’ve worked on a number of interesting projects in the last year, but the one I started a few weeks ago is the most personal. And, I suspect, it will be the most fun.
I’ve started to work with Keith Kriegler (follow him on Twitter!), the founder of MyDadnMe.com, a social website for families that takes a (mostly) Dad point of view of parenting. Better, it’s a social site where you can hang out with your kids. You can play games together, share photos and chat with other family members that belong. My 6-year-old son loves to play the “pipeline master” puzzle game.
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An excerpt from my Vegas Seven column. This week, why prices for dashboard-mounted GPS units are crashing.
A quick search of Amazon.com returns several fine models, most below $150 and many priced below $100. Two major players, Garmin and TomTom, dominate these price points, offering models at a steep discount compared with this time last year, when a good dashboard-mounted GPS cost north of $200.
Part of the reason for the steep and stunning pricing decline is that mobile phones are getting much better at duplicating the functions of dashboard-mounted GPS devices.
Google introduced Google Maps Navigation for Android—a fantastic application that offers accurate, turn-by-turn driving instructions—in November. The app is free and it comes included on several Android-based phones (including the Motorola Droid and Google’s new phone, the Nexus One) and as an upgrade for others (including the first Android phone, the G1 from T-Mobile). The application includes traffic alerts, recommendations for restaurants and other handy road-trip functions. (It even links to Google Map’s Street View function to show you a picture of your destination’s front door before you get there.)
Here is the entire column, which discusses GM’s OnStar, Ford’s Sync and a bevy of mobile-phone based GPS options.
Friday, February 26, 2010
I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to conclude that most people would pick Saturday as their favorite day of the week. For years, Guadalcanal Diary’s “Always Saturday” — a classic one-hit wonder — was my weekend theme song.
On Saturday, me and the little girl head to swim class.
Now I’m thinking it would be an appropriate tune for dads, as my Saturdays are packed with kid activities. I’m not the only dad, that’s for sure.
The day starts with me and the little girl at swim class. Next comes floor hockey with the boy. (I should note these are the current seasonal activities but will change when the weather warms.) Yet there’s a common denominator no matter the event — in my experience, dads are the most frequent participant with the child. Why is this?
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Thursday, February 25, 2010
This story first appeared in Vegas Seven
Raise your hand if you have social media overload. My hand is held high, even if you can’t tell by the illustrated headshot next to this column.
A maddening array of social media networks has popped up in recent years, targeting your tastes and even your aspirations. They include sites for food lovers (Yelp), music fans (Last.fm), long-forgotten kindergarten classmates (Facebook), spoiled children of wealthy parents (A Small World), job seekers (LinkedIn), Brazilians (Orkut) and lovers of short-form witty banter (Twitter). Then there are the social networks that were once the cat’s meow—MySpace and Friendster—that have fallen so far out of social standing that no one in their right mind would risk their virtual reputation by hanging out there anymore.
For the rest of the story, please go to my columnist’s page at Vegas Seven.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
My wife and I are not the type of parents who enjoy listening to syrupy music recorded for kids. We can’t stand the usual stuff from Barney, Disney or Sesame Street. So we figured if the kids don’t hear it, they won’t know what they’re missing. On the other hand, listening to Los Lobos cover Disney’s “I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song)” can make a parent appreciate quality family music.
Animal Crackers, from Wee Hairy Beasties, is one of Dad's favorite CDs for the kids.
Due to our resistance to typical children’s music, if you ask our 6-year-old son about his favorite band, he most likely will start talking about The Clash. He loves the “London Calling” album and he’ll often be heard mangling the lyrics to “Spanish Bombs.” He’s a discerning music fan — and maybe a budding anarchist. But at least we share musical tastes. (Let’s not talk about the Jonas Brothers, however.)
As we drive around Chicago, we can listen to the HD2 channel (Channel X) from WXRT-93.1 FM and everyone will be quite pleased. But when we take road trips, we need CDs. So here’s a list of the Dad-approved CDs that make the cut in our family car. (If you have suggestions for other CDs, please comment below).
Wee Hairy Beasties. Both albums from this Chicago-based super-group are in heavy rotation. Fun, witty songs that never get old.
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Friday, February 19, 2010
A chance conversation in a local bakery reminded me of one of my great accidental parenting discoveries. As I waited for my baked goods, a baker noticed the pins on my backpack and asked if I was a fan of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern.
Do you know the name of the first Green Lantern?
Well, I replied, the Green Lantern kind of confuses me. I don’t know if he is supposed to be black or white. Plus, it seems like there a lot of different Green Lanterns. The baker explained why: there’s a group called the Green Lantern Corps and it’s made up of a collection of interstellar Guardians who protect the universe. Oh.
Clearly, I don’t know my Green Lantern history — but I do like reading about the power-ringed super hero, whatever the color of his skin. (Don’t get the baker started on the origin of Deadpool from the recent Wolverine movie. That film is too violent for small children, by the way.)
Then I explained why I had the pin of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, on my backpack: My son loves super heroes and we like to trade pins featuring comic book characters. He is six; of course he loves super heroes.
But that wasn’t my great parental discovery — nor was the pin trading, but that’s a darn fun one too. The discovery was comic books.
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Thursday, February 18, 2010
This 2D barcode links directly to this blog. Anyone can create a 2D code; go to Scanbuy.com to download software for your phone.
Originally published in Vegas Seven
Barcodes aren’t just used to manage inventory, track shipments and scan prices at the check-out register anymore. Now consumers armed with a basic Web-enabled camera phone (not just fancy iPhones) can capture a new type of barcode image to unlock a world of information, from movie showtimes to contacts for your address book.
You don’t need to be a corporation to create your own barcode: You can do it on your computer and slap it on your business card, then allow contacts to link to virtually any data you want (your résumé, a blog, etc.).
Unlike UPC codes, which are rectangular and involve a combination of thin and thick lines, 2D barcodes are square-shaped and involve square dots, short bars and squiggly lines.
Go to Vegas Seven to read the rest of the story
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
I have no great insights beyond that headline. I just spent about 15 to 25 minutes updating my profiles on LinkedIn and Twitter, checking my Facebook news feed and glancing — but not committing — to the chatter that filters through on Google Buzz.
Sometimes I think of checking up on all those virtual hangouts I once used frequently but then I get tired thinking of how that will only add to an already overwhelming flow of content. When I use Yelp, for instance, it’s via the iPhone app and only to find nearby restaurants. I rarely use Yelp’s website and it’s been three years since I wrote a Yelp review. (I just checked.) That’s probably why I only have 6 Yelp friends. And MySpace? Does that still exist?
I enjoy social media and I like to participate, but keeping up can be tiring. I suspect most people are like me: you end up hanging out at just a few places and keep going back to those. There, that’s my great insight.
