Chris Anderson: The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More
(*****)
Marcus Buckingham: Now, Discover Your Strengths
Great read! Consider this my "Book of the Month"! (*****)
Jacob Slichter: So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star : How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful Of Record Executives and Other True Tales from a Drummer's Life
For aspiring musicians who think they want to become professional. (*****)
Jim Collins: Good to Great : Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't
For those wanting to build and lead their organizations with excellence. (*****)
Unfortunately, Techie Tip Tuesday will not be happening today. I'm wrapped up in banking issues, tour management, focusing moving lights, and being a rockstar. Thanks to all who stopped by wanting to add your piece - save it for next week!
It's time to get back on the road. My band has spent the last couple of months in the studio working on our next studio release which is sounding KILLER (I'm a little biased, but I think you'll like it). So it's been nice to be home and do regular 'home" things... however, the coffers are empty and it's time to get back out on the road and sell some t-shirts!
And we're hitting it pretty hard... In the next 37 days we've got 27 shows (and 4 of those "off" days are GMA Week) from Florida to Washington State, Montana to California, and many stops in between. We're supporting an artist named Shawn McDonald and will be joined by a good friend of ours, Jason Gray. Along with drumming, I will be road managing the tour, so it's going to be a busy next few weeks for me. I will do my best to blog consistently, but if I disappear for a few days, you know what the deal is - it's called self preservation! I'd love it if you came by one of the shows and said hi though... Or just sign up to follow me on Twitter and keep tabs of me that way. Thanks - time to get back to work!
No, this is not the next George Clooney - his name is Douglas Merrill and he was the CIO of Google... until yesterday, when the blogosphere lit up with stories about his departure from Google to EMI to take over as president [HT: John Furrier].
Yes, you read that right: an ex-Google executive is now president of one of the largest music labels in the world.
Talk about taking on a new challenge - moving from the internet company that seems to have everyone talking and wanting jobs to an industry that has been reeling for years, bleeding sales, and still hasn't figured out what the next model should look like! I'm not sure whether to give him props for stepping up to the plate or to just give him the old fashioned "What are you - stupid?!?". I guess we'll have to see how EMI does - they're obviously banking on a little Google magic...
Here's a great quick history-of-music lesson someone sent me, including a moving performance of "Amazing Grace". Enjoy!
[This post is part of Watercooler Wednesday - click here to check it out.]
Welcome to TECHIE TIP TUESDAYS!
HERE are the guidelines. If this is your first time participating, PLEASE take time to read them. It will save us both a lot of time.
To join me, do a post today on your blog about a helpful hint/tip you've discovered about anything technological - blogging, SEO (search engine optimization), computer keyboard shortcuts, mobile phone features, image editing software, free applications, etc. Then, put a link in your post to this post permalink (not my general URL) and then put the permalink of your post (not your general URL) in the little form at the end of this post. Thanks.
iTunes, Apple, and Online Movie Trailers
Well, I'm finding an interesting trend here - this week's Techie Tip has to do with movies as well... only this time, I'm talking about movies in theaters. When I go to a movie, I know that if it says it starts at 1:30pm, the actual feature film I'm going to see won't start until 1:50pm at the EARLIEST - the first 20 minutes generally are a couple of commercials and then movie trailers. But I always make a point of making sure I'm there for the trailers - I love to see what's coming up!
Since Apple has started providing movies via iTunes, they've done a great job of setting up a part of the iTunes store where you can watch movie trailers, and it's great! You can pretty much find any upcoming movie there... I will sit down with Erin some evenings and we'll just go and see what's coming up in the theater. If you're NOT an iTunes user, you can actually accomplish the same thing via Apple's website - just click here to go and see what's coming up. Just make sure you have a few minutes to waste - often the trailers are a little longer than they generally are in the theater which is an added bonus!
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Get The Code
I was doing some research online yesterday and came across this website - the official Starbucks blog, called My Starbucks Idea. Now, I'm not a coffee drinker so Starbucks has never really had much attraction to me (especially since they've never had free wi-fi... but read on!). But I was REALLY impressed with what they're doing with this website. I would consider it one of the best corporate blogs I've seen in a long time, actually. And by "corporate" I don't mean dry, icky-business feeling - I simply mean that they seem to understand how to use a company blog to improve both their customer relations as well as their company as a whole.
Check it out and let me know what you think... (I don't think their version of "free wi-fi" is quite what I'm looking for yet, but hey - at least they're listening to their "fans"!)
I had a couple of interesting experiences last week that have made me want to find out what your collective opinion on this is. Let me paint two different scenarios for you:
Scenario #1
Out for dinner with my wife and another couple. Before our food arrives we collectively bow our heads and my friend says grace. After the meal is finished, we get up to leave and my friend goes over to the table beside us (a party of 10+ older folks) and compliments them for praying publicly before their meal.
Scenario #2
Out for lunch with my wife and seven other friends. The drinks arrive, the appetizers arrive, and no one's said grace yet. I catch the eye of one of the leaders of our group and discreetly ask him if he wants to say grace for us. He then proceeds to announce to the table in a somewhat apologetic, almost embarrassed manner, "Jeremy wants me to say grace before we eat, so let me pray."
I have a lot of respect for both of these men and for the way that they live out their faith. The way Scenario #2 played out kind of bothered me for some reason, though. I have grown up praying in public in restaurants. To this day whenever my family goes out to eat we hold hands around the table and dad will say grace for us all. So I guess what I'm wrestling with is this question: am I being the "weaker brother" by asking to pray before our meal? Is that too old-school/conservative/traditional? I don't do it EVERY time I'm out to eat, but more often than not. If I was really in tune with my faith and in prayer continually anyway, would God automatically know that I was thankful for my food and not need that public admission?
Here's my conclusion: I still believe it is an encouragement both to others in the restaurant and to the server to see a couple/family/group of friends praying before a meal. It also serves as a good reminder to me that since everyone in the restaurant now knows I am a person of faith, I'd better conduct myself in a way that represents the Lord well. And let's be honest... does it really hurt to take an extra few seconds and pray together with friends/family? If I end up looking a little less cool as a result, so be it.
I never thought I would hear myself say this, but I've become a fan of Trace Adkins over the last few weeks - not his music (his music videos are not usually appropriate for MEN to be watching, period!) but the person... at least the person being characterized on "Celebrity Apprentice". I believe I will be watching the finale this Thursday night to see if he can win the whole competition. It's been fun to watch, as Mr. Trump has set up a battle between the "good, American cowboy" and the "evil, British media star". Anybody else watching? As a sidenote, I was pleasantly surprised with how well Stephen Baldwin represented his faith - I didn't find myself cringing TOO many times when they would cut to shots of him...
[This post is participating in Watercooler Wednesday... Check it out!]
Welcome to TECHIE TIP TUESDAYS!
HERE are the guidelines. If this is your first time participating, PLEASE take time to read them. It will save us both a lot of time.
To join me, do a post today on your blog about a helpful hint/tip you've discovered about anything technological - blogging, SEO (search engine optimization), computer keyboard shortcuts, mobile phone features, image editing software, free applications, etc. Then, put a link in your post to this post permalink (not my general URL) and then put the permalink of your post (not your general URL) in the little form at the end of this post. Thanks.
Blockbuster Online
My wife and I enjoy watching movies and we find that we have a large amount of time on our hands when we travel on the road (it's not always that easy to read in the back seat of a bouncing vehicle!). The problem we ran into with movie rental stores was that we were often out of town for longer than the alloted 5 days, so if we rented some movies to watch on the road we would have to pay some pretty steep late fees by the time we were able to return them.
Enter Blockbuster Online. My wife and I have been extremely happy with the way this program works, and I feel like it's got some advantages over Netflix, which I'm sure a number of you are using as well. Here's what I like about Blockbuster's programs: not only do you get the movies extremely quickly (normally it takes no longer than two days from the time I get an email telling me the movie's been shipped) or get to keep them for as long as you want (i.e. no late fees!). But - depending on the program you sign up for - you can also return your movies to a local Blockbuster store and get a free rental there, plus you can get a coupon every month for a free in-store rental. We pay $20/month (which ends up being about 4 new release rentals a month) and we definitely get our money's worth (the number of movies we watch each month depends on how many days we spend on the road).
Are you using Blockbuster Online or Netflix? Which one do you like better?
I've had a number of friends in recent months rave about William P. Young's novel "The Shack", so this week I decided to pick it up and give it a read. Eugene Peterson wrote a pretty glowing review for the book: "When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of The Shack. This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!"
I'm embarrassed to say I haven't read Pilgrim's Progress yet, so I guess that's going to be added to my reading list. But so far I've been really impressed with this read. It's a short, easy, and engrossing book - I should be finished today or tomorrow. If you've already read it, I'd love to hear what you thought... however, as a courtesy to those of us who have not read it or finished it yet, please be careful not to give anything away!
[I'm participating in Watercooler Wednesday - check it out!]
Welcome to TECHIE TIP TUESDAYS!
HERE are the guidelines. If this is your first time participating, PLEASE take time to read them. It will save us both a lot of time.
To join me, do a post today on your blog about a helpful hint/tip you've discovered about anything technological - blogging, SEO (search engine optimization), computer keyboard shortcuts, mobile phone features, image editing software, free applications, etc. Then, put a link in your post to this post permalink (not my general URL) and then put the permalink of your post (not your general URL) in the little form at the end of this post. Thanks.
Print Screen for Mac Users
I made the switch to Mac about 5 years ago now and it was the greatest computing move I ever made. I've found that there are simply too many cool little extra features that I can do on my Mac that I sure don't remember being able to do on my PC. So some of my computing tips are only going to be applicable to Mac users as that's the world I live in these days.
One of the tricks I've learned that has proven extremely helpful for blogging is the "print screen" feature. Say there is an image or something on a website that I want to include in my post but can't find an actual .jpg file. If you hold down the apple key (command)+shift+4 all at the same time, you'll find that your mouse cursor will turn into crosshairs. You can then drag a rectangle around whatever it is on your screen you want to capture; once you let go of your mouse button it will automatically save it as a .png file on your desktop called "Picture 1". All you have to do is find it, name the file anything you want, and change the .png to .jpg (this will be an easier file for the majority of computers to read).
I hope this proves helpful. Make sure you leave your tip for Techie Tip Tuesdays!
It's Friday, so here's a little entertainment to help you get through the rest of the day...
Any other scents you'd like to see offered?
[Disclaimer: I haven't called the phone number, but you can go to the website here.]
This past Sunday morning I found myself having one of the more humbling conversations I've had with someone in a while. I will do my best to transcribe for you below the gist of our conversation. The whole conversation lasted no more than 4 minutes, and all the way I was thinking, "This is going to make a GREAT blog post!!" Please understand - I really don't believe there was anything malicious about this conversation... I'll just chalk it up to cluelessness. (Names have been changed to protect the identity of "Clueless Joe".) I've included some "What NOT to say to an artist" tips for those of you who may not catch them...
JT: "Hi, I'm Jeremy."
CJ: "Hey - I'm Clueless Joe. Do you play with downhere?"
JT: "Yeah, I do, actually."
CJ: "That's cool! My wife and I just picked up your album last week."
JT: "Oh, that's great, man! Thanks!"
CJ: "Yeah, we were in Lifeway and are suckers for that $10 discount rack." (Tip #1: Don't tell the artist his record is in the discount bin!!)
JT: "Oh, wow. Well, that's awesome man - I'm glad you got it."
CJ: "Yeah... my wife doesn't like it." (Tip #2: Don't tell the artist you don't like their record!!)
JT: "Oh..."
CJ: "Yeah - I guess I'd better listen to the album this week now that I've met you." (Tip #3: Don't tell an artist you feel obligated to listen to their record!)
JT: (Trying not to act too bewildered and deflated) "Yeah, I guess so!"
CJ: "I think it's in my car right now... right beside David Crowder. And if it's between you and Crowder, you know he's going to win every time!!" (Tip #4: This one's stinkin' obvious!!)
JT: (Attempting to bow out of the conversation and find a corner to lick my wounds and swallow the heaping serving of humble pie just shoved down my throat) "That's nice... Well, great to meet you! I hope you enjoy the album!"
Welcome to the first edition of TECHIE TIP TUESDAYS!
HERE are the guidelines. If this is your first time participating, PLEASE take time to read them. It will save us both a lot of time.
To join me, do a post today on your blog about a helpful hint/tip you've discovered about anything technological - blogging, SEO (search engine optimization), computer keyboard shortcuts, mobile phone features, image editing software, free applications, etc. Then, put a link in your post to this post permalink (not my general URL) and then put the permalink of your post (not your general URL) in the little form at the end of this post. Thanks.
Mobile Phone RSS Readers
Back in the fall finally took the plunge and became the proud owner of a Blackberry (or "Crackberry", according to some). This was (and still is) my first smartphone, and I have really enjoyed it. Because I travel a lot I don't have a lot of time to sit in front my computer and read through the various blogs I frequent regularly. So instead I've downloaded an RSS Reader for my phone which allows me to peruse my favorite blogs/news sites wherever I am via my phone (you have to have a data package on your phone for this to work). I've used two different applications so far and have been pretty happy with both:
Viigo has been a great tool - I was using it exclusively before I discovered the next reader.
NewsGator Go! is a product of the NewsGator company who, for those Mac people, created NetNewsWire (an RSS feed reader), which, coincidentally, is now free. What I like about this application is that it works together with the RSS reader on my computer, so if I read an article on my phone it will show up read when I look on my computer.
So there are a couple of options - applications that I've personally used and have liked. I'm sure there are others - what are you using?
Chris Anderson, author of "The Long Tail" and editor of Wired Magazine, has written a fascinating article this month called "Why $0.00 is the Future of Business". Here is a link to the full article - it's pretty long, so you'll need to give yourself a little bit of time to wade through it. If you don't have the time and would rather watch a video, you can watch him give a synopsis of his article below (Wired posted it on YouTube but didn't give any embedding code, so I just recorded it and posted it on my YouTube page so that I could embed it here for your viewing ease - please forgive the low quality audio.)
What do you think?
UPDATE: I guess Wired got jumpy about me recording it, so the video below won't work anymore. Just click on their YouTube link above to watch it. So much for making things user friendly!!
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