Spam Roundup: May 2013

Spam's a fact of Internet life. But they sometimes can provide some unintentional humor. Here's a selection of some of the best(?) spam I've received this past month.

Increased traffic has meant increased spam to this blog. And a few comments have provided some unintentional humor. Here's a sampling of some of the best of the worst -- with my own thought thrown in as well. My comments are bracketed.

Everybody's Favorite Word
 - Wow, this paragraph is fastidious, my younger sister is analyzing these kinds of things, thus I am going to tell her.

What is it with spammers and hemorrhoids?
 - When someone writes an paragraph he/she maintains the thought of a user in his/her brain that how a user can know it. So that's why this paragraph is outstdanding. Thanks! [You/you're welcome/thanks.] Here is my web page :: HemorrhoidMiracleDiscount

How's that again?
 - Genuinely when someone doesn't understand after that its up to other users that they will assist, so here it happens.

Yeah? Look who's talking
 - obviously like your web-site but you have to test the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I in finding it very troublesome to inform the truth nevertheless I will surely come back again. [Tell you what. I'll work on spelling if you'll work on grammar.]

Point, Counterpoint 

The heart of the controversy. Spammers either loved or hated my post
about this homemade childhood toy.

[Both of these were posted to the same article, Clackety-Clack Train.]
- I think that everything published was actually very logical. However, think on this, suppose you added a little information? I mean, I don't wish to tell you how to run your website, however what if you added a post title that grabbed people's attention? I mean "Clackety-Clack Train" is kinda vanilla. [Really!?] You might look at Yahoo's front page and note how they create post headlines to get people interested. You might add a video or a picture or two to grab people excited about what you've got to say. In my opinion, it might bring your website a little livelier. [And we all want to bring on the livelier.]

 - Hurrah! Finally I got a webpage from where I know how to in fact take useful data regarding my study and knowledge. [Now here's a reader who gets the livlier I brought!]

Typical 
 - Because the admin of this site is working, no hesitation very shortly it will be famous, due to its feature contents. [I do all the writing, admin gets all the credit. -- as usual.]

Night and Day 
[Two comments about CCC 018 - Max Richter, a composer profile.]
  - The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesn't disappoint me as much as this particular one. After all, I know it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I genuinely believed you'd have something interesting to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of crying about something you could fix if you were not too busy seeking attention. [Oh yes, I would fix Max Richter's music in a heartbeat if I wasn't so needful.]

Howdy! This blog post couldn’t be written any better! Going through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept talking about this. I will send this information to him. Pretty sure he’s going to have a very good read. Thanks for sharing! [I guess he liked it better on second read.]

"Alley" is not a euphemism
[In response to my comic strip commentary "Gasoline Alley and the Old Comic Strip Challenge"]
- Yes! Finally something about anal. [It's not. I promise.]

I'm all about helping the Internet people
 - Thіs paragraph wіll help the intеrnet people for building up neω ωeb sіte or even a blog fгom stаrt to enԁ.

Smartly-liked from various angles
 - What i don't understood is in fact how you are now not actually a lot more smartly-liked than you might be right now. You are so intelligent. You know therefore considerably when it comes to this topic, made me personally imagine it from so many various angles. Its like women and men are not interested unless it is one thing to accomplish with Woman gaga! Your own stuffs outstanding. All the time handle it up!

Till next month, keep enjoying my outstanding stuffs -- if you can handle it up, that is.

The monthly spam roundup

Spam Roundup: April 2013

Increased traffic has meant increased spam to this blog. And a few comments have provided some unintentional humor. Here's a sampling of some of the best of the worst -- with my own thought thrown in as well.

For some reason, my post on Fastidious Spam (which was about goofy spam) attracted a fair amount of its own. Goofy spam, that is. My comments are bracketed.

 - This is a topic that is close to my heart. .. [I'm sure it is -- spambot] best wishes! Where are your contact details though [to the right, in plain sight]


  - Way cool! Some very valid points! [Points you've just helped prove, BTW]  I appreciate you penning this post and also the rest of the website is extremely good. [Why thanks. High praise indeed for a spambot.]
 

  - Hey very nice blog! how to cure hemorrhoids at home on Fastidious Spam [OK, that's not an image I want in my brain.]
 
  - Thanks for finally writing about > "Fastidious Spam" < Liked it! [Oh yes, we're into hard-hitting editorials here at Off  Topic'd.]  Also visit my web page - treatment for hemorrhoids [What is it with hemorrhoids? Is it just professional admiration from one pain the ass to another?]  

 - What's up to all, it's actually a fastidious for me to pay a visit this site, it consists of priceless Information. [Your use of "fastidious" is priceless to me.]

This is the toy that inspired spambots to write about
lollipop cigarettes, online money, South Africa, and poetry.

Another popular post proved to be The Straco Layout, Part 23 - Lumbering along, which is just about a small Japanese tin toy car. Really. So I'm not sure why it attracted the following comments:

  - I used to be able to find good info from you? content. My weblog - South African Government Travel Advisory [So sorry to disappoint. But I didn't have much to say about South Africa in my post about an early 1960's lithographed Japanese toy car.]

 - Yes! Finally someone writes about money online. [Really? Well they didn't do it here!]

  - Lollipop shaped v2 cigarettes incredibly preferred amongst ladies. [Cryptic advice from the spammers. You heard it hear first, ladies.] 

  - Hi there colleagues, how is all, and what you wish for to say on the topic of this article, in my view its truly awesome for me. [Yes, how is all, y'all?]

  - What a material of un-ambiguity and preserveness of precious familiarity regarding unpredicted feelings. [Sheer poetry.]

And in conclusion, we have a comment that refers back to a previous post and ties everything together nicely.

What's up, this weekend is fastidious for me, since this point in time i am reading this wonderful educational article here at my residence. 

Wishing one and all every fastidiousness at their residence.

Fastidious Spam

Recently the inbox for this blog has been overflowing with spam. Some of them have been carefully worded to generically apply to most any subject matter -- with a link to their own handiwork, of course. Like this one (all links disabled):

I am sure this post has touched all the internet visitors, its really really pleasant piece of writing on building up new weblog. Feel free to visit my homepage; low carb food 
my website - high fat diet 

OK, not too bad -- even if the comment was attached to the post HD Radio's Rate of Decay (maybe HD Radio would do better on a low carb diet?)

But this one really takes the cake -- er, processed meat product. Twice this week I've received a comment using the word "fastidious."

According to Merriam Webster, fastidious means:

a : having high and often capricious standards

b : showing or demanding excessive delicacy or care

c : reflecting a  meticulous, sensitive, or demanding attitude

And here's the latest comment I've received with the word -- this one from a classical CD review (Weinberg: Symphony No. 6 - A Russian composer is given his due ):

Hi Dear, are you really visiting this site daily, if so after that you will absolutely obtain fastidious knowledge. 
Also visit my webpage ... Freaky-Monster Wohnaccessoires 
my site > MiniMonster Geschenkegroßhandel
 [MiniMonster Wholesale Gifts in English]

Sure,  toots, thanks. So is this knowledge you refer to capricious, delicate, or demanding? My writing can be characterized many ways (such as good, bad or indifferent), but I have yet to hear this term from any of my editors!

I don't think spammers have gotten more creative -- just stranger.

---

UPDATE: Shortly it went live, this post received its first comment:

If some one needs to be updated with most up-to-date technologies afterward he must be visit this site and be up to date all the time. My webpage: Privat Krankenversicherung Kind

More spam. And not particularly fastidious, either.

Hiding in Plain Sight 2

When I wrote Hiding in Plain Sight in 2011, I remarked on the strange disconnectedness of social media. Recently something happened to show me that things haven't really changed all that much.

A question came up on a professional listserve -- where's Ralph? I used to participate in the discussion, but mostlyI  just monitored the list as I didn't have much to contribute. Engagement slacked off still further and I hadn't checked the list in over a year -- email (especially on an AOL address) is so 20th Century.

A friend alerted me that the question had come up, and before I could respond, there was a flurry of discussion. No one seemed to know where I was. Was I still in the country? Still alive? Still in business? It was a mystery.

While my participation in an email listserve waned, I've become increasingly active on several social media sites -- including Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google+ (just starting with that last one). No one knew where I was. This blog passed 100,000 views -- and no one knew where I was.

It didn't remain that way for long, though. Some of the folks did some searching and thought they had found me on those sites, but weren't sure if it was me or someone else with the same name. I've since responded, and let everyone know that I'm fine, and confirming where I can be found.

The interesting thing is that some of those folks are on Facebook, and/or Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Linkedin -- but they apparently weren't aware I was also.

Two years ago I noted that there seemed to be clear divides among my social media associates. Friends on Facebook had no idea I was a blogger (or what I might even be writing about). Twitter followers are seldom my LinkedIn contacts, and Pinterest followers are mostly completely unrelated to any of the other groups.

It can be kind of liberating, because I can have a different persona for each group. But there's a danger, too. I've tried very hard to raise my public profile online, yet I'm still invisible to most of the people I know personally and professionally. So who cares if I post something embarrassing or in poor taste or illegal? No one's watching anyway.

Except when they are. We needn't wonder why people continue to share such things on social media sites. It seems that no one's paying attention, which makes the poster feel safely anonymous.

I'm glad I've never succumbed to the temptation. Because once people started to actively search for me, I was very easy to find -- along with all of my public posts, pins, tweets, and updates. Being on a  social media site doesn't guarantee people will beat a path to your door. But when they find that path, it better be in good repair.

Dynamic view, part 2

Monday I changed the layout of this blog to a dynamic view, and asked for feedback (Does this make my blog look fat?). After only a week, the results are pretty inconclusive. Traffic looks to be about the same, and there's been no major blowback. But I'm still not sure. I may be tinkering with this again over the next month, so if there are features you'd prefer to see (or never see again), let me know.

Any design decisions I make should be to increase the readability and usefulness of the blog -- everything else in secondary.

Does this make my blog look fat?

I've been thinking of reworking the layout for this blog for a while now. So today I decided to take the plunge and go with a dynamic view.

Although I'm fairly happy with the result, that doesn't count for much. What really matters is your reaction. Whether you're landing here for the first time, or you've been reading for a while, please share your thoughts on the new dynamic view (but keep it clean).

And whether you like the changes or not, let me know if there are features you'd like to see, or perhaps not like to see again. Should I bring back the blog roll? Most popular posts? Viewer stats? You decide!

My goal is to present this content in the most user-friendly way possible. So I'm relying on friendly feedback from you, dear user.

A brush with greatness

 I've been commenting on the changes in Dick Tracy recently, and I actually received a comment on one of my posts -- from Mike Curtis, the writer for the strip!

It's one of the things I like about the Internet. It's possible to communicate directly with some of the folks you admire, more so then in the olden days of pen and paper letters. Through Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter I've had interesting conversations with authors, broadcasters, composers, and performers whose works I admire.

Mike Curtis may not be a household name (Chester Gould probably wasn't either), but I'm still flattered that the writer of a major comic strip would read -- and take the time to comment -- on my post.

Virtual Packing

I know I'm not the only one preparing to go out of town. And I'm not the only one to go off the grid at the same time. We'll be spending Thanksgiving at a home where there's no Internet access, so I'll be offline for a few days.

It's not a bad situation -- I can always sneak down to the public library or other Wi-Fi hotspot if I want to check on things. And it is nice to just get away from the virtual world for awhile.

But for me, it means some additional packing.

Just like I'll be laying out the clothes I'll want to wear three or four days into the future, I'll also have to pack my social networks with content, too. I'll have to write some blog posts and schedule them to publish while I'm gone. I've already scheduled some Tweets and Facebook status updates. Nothing extensive, just some things to keep my feeds current.

Just one more thing to do before we hit the road!

Inspiration, Month 2

Tuesday marked the second month of my experiment in creativity. To briefly recap, on September 15th I was inspired by Ira Glass' thoughts on creativity. His premise that one becomes more creative by creating more made sense to me. So to improve the creative level of this blog, I made myself do a daily post, rather than whenever I felt like it.

It's been mostly successful. Tuesday I was focused in on the National November Writing Month challenge, and completely forgot about this other milestone. So that's something, I think.

I was hoping to learn how to say more with less, thereby decreasing time spent writing the posts. I'm not quite there yet, so I'll just have to keep on with the experiment. So here we go for at least another month....

Laughing awkwardly

I guess it's true that there's no subject too specialized for a blog. One of my favorite humor sites is Awkward Family Photos. In addition to having some cringe-worthy photography, it's actually a pretty good-natured site. The goal isn't to make fun of the subjects, but simply to acknowledge that not all poses are flattering. And most of the submissions come from the subjects themselves!

So there's a whole site devoted to just, well, awkward family photos. And today I discovered one even more specialised: awkward classical music photos. This site has the same general idea -- taking publicity shots and album covers that, at the very least, don't do their subjects any favors.

And like AFP, the idea isn't ridicule. The site was organized by people who love classical music, and it's a way to turn the mirror of fun on ourselves.

So in order to enjoy this site, you have to:

1) Have the type of humor that would appreciate the images in the right way.

2) Have a knowledge and appreciation of classical music and its traditions.

That's a pretty narrow focus. And yet, there's the site, and it seems to be enjoying a fair amount of traffic. What's next? A viola-only awkward photo site?

It could happen, I suppose.

So far, so good

I'm halfway through my month-long experiment in creativity. As a way to hone my creative skills, I set myself the task of posting daily to this blog. It's been a challenge to come up with a post every single day, but an exercise that has indeed helped my writing.

Normally it takes about 30-45 minutes to write a post. The actual text isn't that difficult, but researching the background, adding the appropriate links, and tracking down images takes time. Having a daily instead of a whenever-I-feel-like it schedule has forced me to cut down that process. It's made me more comfortable with shorter posts (although as a Twitterer you'd think I'd be comfortable with succinct expression).

And it's forced me to expand my range of subjects a little bit.

So all in all, it's been worthwhile.

What happens after 30 days? We'll see. I might try for 60....

Hiding in plain sight

Almost none of my friends read my blog. It's something that used to bother me, but now I just think it an odd fact. And not a new one. When I was on the local radio station, few people I knew in the area tuned in (they may have listened to the station, but not to hear me).

When I went to WTJU, things didn't change. After twenty+ years of producing and hosting a classical music show on the station, many of my friends are still surprised to hear I'm on the radio (some have forgotten that fact, and so are surprised twice), and -- even though the show is broadcast online and archived for on-demand listening -- never listen to the program.

Do I feel sorry for myself? Hardly. Early on, both in my radio career and in my blogging, I figured out that any type of communication will find its own audience. The reality is that most of my friends don't listen to classical music. So why would they make a point of tuning in to my program?

And many of my friends are indifferent, occasional, or sometimes begrudging Internet users. So subscribing to a blog isn't something they normally do anyway. And again, the topics I tend to write about don't appeal to everyone.

So I have an online readership that I share my thoughts with -- that my friends are never aware of.

I have an on air audience that I share music with -- that my friends never hear.

It's a strange dichotomy. Because what I say "in public" (online or on air) is in some ways more private than what I share with friends. But I don't have a public and a private persona. Whether you're reading this post, or listening to my broadcast, or chatting with me at a gathering, I'm the same person.

Too bad my friends don't get the whole picture, but that's alright. I'm not sure I'd subscribe to my sister's My Little Pony blog (if she were to write one) either.

Welcome to Off Topic'd

It's been quite a while since our last post, and many things have changed.

When Ken and I started "CE Conversations" back in 2006, the idea was to do a blog about consumer electronics (the "C.E." of the title), and for Ken and I to alternate posts in an open conversation (the "Conversations" of the title).

It very soon turned into a blog about other things we were interested in, such as movies, books, personal observations on life and culture (both high and popular). And as Ken got more involved with other projects, his participation lessened, making CE Conversations more like RG Monologues.

So we've worked on a redesign and a new title, and here we are.

CE Conversations becomes Off Topic'd
"Off Topic'd" is a play on the words "Off Topic." The cardinal rule of blogging is to stick to a single topic -- be it fly fishing or genealogy -- and write exclusively about that. Audience builds because readers know what to expect -- another fascinating post about knitting (or whatever).

The problem is that I'm deeply interested in a bunch of different things -- some related, some not. Plus, I write and edit blogs professionally, so I already write tightly focussed posts as part of my job.

CE Conversations/Off Topic'd I write for fun, so I'm writing about whatever I feel like. Sure, the numbers may not get very high, but that's OK. Some people get it.

So the title refers to my preference to go off topic as often as I care to. It's more fun that way.

Where's Ken?
Ken's still around, and we still work closely together -- our conversations are offline now, I'm afraid. Ken remains a writer of this blog, and he'll contribute whenever he feels like it (he, too, writes professionally on deadline, so writing without a deadline is fun).

An Invitation for Writers
And that's where you come in. I'd love to share this blog with a few other like-minded (read: eclectic) writers. Drop me a line if you're interested. No money -- just glory.

So is there a theme to Off Topic'd?
Yes, there is. My motto is "finding beauty in ephemera." I like to hold up for examination things that usually don't get much attention even the first time around -- like comic strip art. I also like to look for patterns of behavior and try to move from the specific to the general -- like trying to find general characteristics in collecting. And sometimes there are things I just think people should know about if they don't already -- like knowing what "cutting the Gordian knot" means.

Bottom line: this blog has a new look and new title, but basically it's just a readjustment to what the blog has actually become rather than a change of direction.

Hope you enjoy!

And of course, if you have any ideas, suggestions, or questions. contact me. There's still a conversation or two to be had here.

Ralph


The WTJU copyright issue, day 23. 

A few tips from the Beeb -- with numbers

On one of my radio listserves, the subject of YouTube videos came up (after a radio announcer posted some videos). My contribution to the discussion, how a station can use YouTube as a marketing tool, was the basis of my post "Radio for video websites -- the easy way."

In the listserve discussion, I cited the BBC Radio 1's "Chris Moyles Show" as an example of how to integrate the various media. I linked to one of their videos involving the staff trying to talk while eating Pop Rocks, and explained how the show used this one skit on the radio, on video, as a text message topic, and a blog post.

Response from the listserve? "Eating Pop Rocks is dumb. What's the point?"

The point wasn't the content itself, but how it was being used to reach a wider audience through different media (as I further explained in another post).

Recently the Chris Moyles show did another video stunt worth paying attention to -- not necessarily because of the content, but because of what they did with it -- and the results.

The show's newsreader, Dominic Byrne, set out to make the world's most boring YouTube video. And the Moyles team set out to get that video as many views as possible. A silly stunt, sure, but let's look carefully at the execution -- and the results.



Listen carefully to the original segment. Although Moyles and his team are talking about a video (and a deliberately boring one at that), they use a wide range of audio tricks to make it interesting and fun on radio. When the segment starts, they note that the video has around 10,000 views -- by the end it's 100,000. Over 400 text messages come in during the segment, and the energy level of the segment is high throughout.

Now that broadcast has come and gone, but there's more to the story. I don't listen to the BBC live, but I did hear about this on the Chris Moyles Show podcast. And it pursuaded me to watch the video. I could have also read about it on the Chris Moyles Show blog. And played the Flash animation game. And watched the trailer.

As of this writing, the video has over 350,000 views -- which represents about 5% of the show's audience.

This video is silly, but what if these same tactics were used to drive traffic to a different kind of radio station video? What if it was a video designed to strengthen the brand of the station? What if it had an advertiser's message incorporated into it? Now you've got something that's working for the station in a medium outside of over-the-air broadcast. And what if listeners were directed to a page on the station's website to view the content? A page with additional advertising opportunities.

While 5% of an audience may not seem like much, consider this: a realtor shared a success story on our listserve. She was excited because advertising an open house on our local radio station resulted in 24 people showing up to the event. How much happier would she have been with ten times that turnout (closer to the 5% mark) -- or more?

- Ralph

Day 46 of the WJMA Web Watch.

The Digital Experiential Divide

I've recently joined Twitter -- but this post isn't about that. Rather, it's about what happened after I joined, and the implications for others trying to move their businesses online.

If you're not familiar with Twitter, check out this video by Common Craft. As always, they do a superb job of clearly -- and simply -- explaining the basic concept.



And that's the crux of this post -- explaining basic concepts. These days it's not too difficult for most people to understand what a website is and why a business needs one (well, perhaps with one exception). And that's because most people have had experience with websites.

But many times the usefulness of a web-based application can't adequately be explained to someone who hasn't tried. But most people (especially business decision-makers) aren't going to try something unless they know what the benefit is.

How can you convey the concept of what these things are to someone with no frame of reference? Is a blog like a newsletter? A podcast like a radio show? Well, kind of, but not really.

I'm using Twitter both as a way to expand my social network and as a way for DCD Records to reach people. But when folks ask me what's new, I can't really tell them. Even some of my fairly Internet-savvy colleagues don't understand what Twitter is and why I'm there.

I've talked before about digital subdivisions. There's the big one among people who are online and those that aren't. And there's another one between people who actively use the Internet for many things and those that use it occasionally for forward e-mail jokes and visiting a few websites.

It seems to me there's a further subdivision among the active Internet users. There's those that follow the well-trod paths (visiting websites, using email) and those that are exploring the new services the web offers. And the problem is that the benefits of these new services are only apparent to those who try them.

But if your business depends on Internet traffic in a substantial way, then it might be a good idea to experiment a little. Not all of these new services are a good match for every business, but, hey. It's where the action is.

I'd be more specific, but well, you had to be there.

- Ralph

Day 40 of the WJMA Web Watch.

WTJU -- wave of the future, or waving from the sidelines?

Jerry Del Colliano recently had a couple of interesting posts in his "Inside Music Media" blog. Now, Mr. Del Colliano's professional broadcasting credentials are impeccable, both as an on-air professional and as a major force in the industry. So let's assume his opinions have some weight. And what does he think radio needs to succeed with current and future audiences?

In one post he lists as a top priority:

Djs who play their own music -- not corporate or station playlists (I know, I know -- it won't work. It never does. Tight playlists and repetition win out in the end. Bla Bla Bla). No, this Gen Y audience means it.

In a post about Bob Dylan's "Theme Time Radio" program, he goes into a little more detail about what contemporary audiences are hungry for:

1. Someone knowledgeable about the music. In local markets that obviously can't afford a Bob Dylan, who is the guy or gal who is the most knowledgeable and put them on the air?

2. They want the dj expert to play their own records.

3. A sense of adventure. When was the last time a listener got a sense of adventure when listening to the radio? Duh! They didn't.

4. Unpredictability. It doesn't take a PD to know what the second half hour of a radio station is going to sound like -- the first half hour!

[This is just an excerpt. I highly recommend reading the whole post.]

Now here's the thing. This is exactly what I, and all the other volunteer announcers, do at WTJU every day. As the programmer/host, I love it. And from the comments I've received both over the phone and in person, the listeners do, too. I've done commercial radio the corporate way, and compared to that experience, this is much more rewarding for listener and announcer alike!

So here's the question. If Del Colliano is right, and this is what people want, why isn't WTJU the top station in the Charlottesville, Virginia radio market?

Well, there's several reasons. WTJU does block programming, which tends to lower audience size (and we don't do it very well, either). And there's the whole issue of marketing and promotion -- which I'll discuss in detail in a future post.

Suffice it to say, Jerry Del Colliano's model station is alive and well and broadcasting in Central Virginia. And it's managed to keep itself the best-kept secret in the area.

We've built it at WTJU, but we don't understand that people need to know about it before they'll come.

- Ralph

Day 24 of the WJMA Web Watch.

Public Radio Blogs, III

I heard from Tom Morgan from WWOZ, New Orlean's jazz and heritage music public radio station. He responded to my post about public radio blogs. WWOZ started a blog to document the Jazz Fest event, and hope to soon have an official station blog.

I've still been unable to find any kind of directory for public radio blogs, so I think I'll start my own. If you know of any public radio station blogs, please post a comment to the Public Radio Blog Directory. As I visit different sites, I'll add any that I find as well.

- Ralph

BTW - If Charlottesville readers find Tom's name familiar, they should. Tom Morgan used to be a volunteer for WTJU, where he hosted the early jazz program "Bartender's Bop," as well as "The Jazz Roots Show," still going strong online and at WWOZ.

Public Radio Blogs, II

Monday I tried to define what I thought made a good public radio blog, and cited a couple of examples. Purely by coincidence, the same day in one of the public radio listservs I subscribe to, someone at a station asked for examples of public radio blogs -- specifically, blogs from classical music stations. And some stations responded, including WITF in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Now here's a station who understands how blogging can help develop relationships with their audience.

WITF actually has a family of blogs, each one specialized enough to appeal to a different group of readers. The Reporter's Notebook lets the news staff provide added detail to the stories they cover (comments enabled). There's a blog for their newsletter (comments disabled), and even a specialized one for politics -- Voter's Voice PA (with comments enabled).

And WITF has three staff blogs. Dr. Dick's Blog, by music director Dick Strawser, is about classical music from a personal view (no comments, but an email link for personal reply). Composing Thoughts is on-air host John Clair's blog about contemporary music and musicians (comments disabled). I've read this blog for some time, and I'm embarrassed I forgot about it when I wrote Monday's post.

And John Clair also writes the New Releases blog for WITF (comments disabled). At first blush, this may seem similar to WETA's "blog," but there's a significant difference. WITF's blog is talking about the new releases being played by the station.

Further, there's a pick-of-the-month feature (displayed prominently in the sidebar) with a link to Borders Books. So even though the communication is one-way, the content is about the station. And the link lets listeners respond and earn some money for the station as well. Now these are folks who "get it!"

Are there more examples of public radio blogs? I'll keep digging (and reading posts). If you know of one, let me know. My comment field's always enabled.

- Ralph

Public Radio Blogs

MaSvo raised some good questions in her recent comment on my post "Blogging Explained."

Although I largely agree with your assessment of the WETA blog, I think it is a mistake to think that the defining (or necessary) element in a weblog is the interactivity.

After all, can't a blog be anything you want it to be? Who's to say whether WETA's blog is or isn't a blog?

While that's certainly true in the most general terms, I think we can make some distinctions between personal and corporate blogs.

IMHO, a personal blog is simply an individual expression. Some personal blogs primarily chronical the poster's everyday life, such as Constance Crabstick's "Fatuous Observations". Others are built around a particular topic that interests the poster, such as the "Comics Curmudgeon." And there's everything in between.

The personal blog most fits the model Common Craft described in their video. Post about what you're interested in, and eventually others join in the conversation and you've become part of a community.

The corporate blog has a slightly different function. Rather than being a gateway into an individual's personality, it's part of the public face of the company. It has to be consistent with what the company is about, and should reflect its corporate culture.

While an individual blog can be about whatever interests the writer, the corporate blog must be related to the company and what it does. But a corporate blog isn't just another place to park press releases. It's a real opportunity to let customers "get inside" the company a little bit, and for the blogging company to develop conversations -- and a community -- with its readers and customers. This helps builds brand identification and loyalty.

So what about radio? See the previous paragraph. Especially in public radio, which asks its listeners to fund the stadion directly, this kind of communication can be invaluable.

According to an Edison Media Research post about this very thing, Tom Webster wrote:

The blog is an equally important and increasingly more relevant outlet for consumer opinions, feedback and suggestions for improvement.

How important is it?

The web puts your station and your brand smack dab into the middle of the largest public marketplace in the world--vast and intimate at the same time. Because the distance between consumers and corporations is effectively reduced to zero, any conversation occurring on the web about your station is a conversation going on right outside your booth and right under your nose.

You have a choice--you can ignore the crowd congregating in front of your little stand in cyberspace, or you can welcome them, greet them, and give them an outlet to converse with you and with other listeners about your brand.

So while WETA's blog may fill the broadest definition of a blog, how well is it at doing any of the above?

Here's the point I was trying to make. WETA did have that kind of informational blog that invited comments, and then it changed to a record review column that said nothing about the station -- and let the readers say nothing at all.

I think they changed because they didn't like the comments they got. Webster had something to say about that, too:

If you are genuinely worried that you will be flooded with exclusively negative comments, maybe it's not the listeners who have the problem. One thing about taking the plunge into business blogging--you better have a good product, or you will hear about it.

So which public radio stations have good blogs? Researching for this post, I did find a few. Unfortunately, there's not a list (that I'm aware of) for public radio station blogs. Iowa Public Radio and Minnesota Public Radio both do blogs that fit the Tom Webster outline. They talk about things going on at their stations, relevant news -- and both allow comments.

But for the best examples of stations that "get it," I recommend KCRW and WFMU.

KCRW has a battery of blogs, (all with comments enabled) about the announcers, the engineers, and music news. Collectively they present the character of the station, and further the conversation between listeners and staff. KCRW has a huge Internet presence, and these blogs just strengthen their profile.

WFMU does the same thing in a different way (also with comments enabled). "Beware the Blog" is as eclectic and freewheeling as the station's programming. WFMU also has a massive Internet presence and gets a significant amount of contributions from listeners outside their coverage area (sometimes halfway around the world).

But what makes WFMU's blog unique is that it doesn't talk about the station per se, but about the kind of things the station airs. I've seen posts on this blog show up in many other pop culture blogs (like BoingBoing), and WFMU's posts are often the only ones from any non-commercial radio stations that appear on these more general-interest sites.

So what does that mean? It means that WFMU is reaching beyond the insular world of public radio listeners. Folks trace back the stories and discover the station. Then they become listeners -- and supporters.

Yes, WETA has every right to post professionally written record reviews and call it a corporate blog. But is it really serving that function?

Where's the conversation?

- Ralph

BTW:
1) My criticism of WETA's blog is in no way one of Jen Laursen's writing in any way. He's a solid reviewer and essayist.
2) If anyone has other examples of public radio blogs they enjoy reading, please leave a comment! Short of visiting every station's website in the public radio system, I can't think of any other way to discover these elusive beasts.

Podcasting Explained -- Thanks Again, Common Craft!

Yesterday I shared a video about blogging from Common Craft. Their "in Plain English" series explains complex concepts in short, simple videos. "Podcasting in Plain English" outlines the basics of podcasting, and even addresses some of the common misperceptions about it.



I've been enjoying podcasts from some time now. In fact, it's almosst completely edged out radio listening when I drive. And I also produce a podcast for our record label.

Podcasting and other web activities face a very difficult hurtle. The benefits are immediately obvious to those who participate and use them. But these activities are so new and foreign to most people that they have almost no way to understand what these processes are -- and therefore can't properly assess their value. And therefore don't use them.

Why should that matter? Who cares if only a select "get it?"

Well, for one thing it considerably limits the potential audience.

I produce the "DCD Classical 'Cast" to showcase the releases that we carry at our online store. The more folks subscribe to our podcast, the more potential customers we have. Our listener base is slowly groing, but it's still a VERY small fraction of the potential audience. If everyone who listened to classical music on the radio understood and used podcasts, we would still only get a minority of that audience, but our download numbers would jump exponentially.

The other reason it matters who "gets it" is that podcasts are inexpensive to produce and distribute, and are tailor-made for narrowcasting.

Some businesses benefit from podcasting, either by producing their own (as we do), or advertising on them to get their message out to their core customer base. But its only a fraction of the businesses that could profitably use this tool.

Audble.com is a good example of how to do it. For the uninitiated, Audible is a "books on tape" company. Save that their books are downloadable MP3s.

For the past two months Audible's been agressively advertising on many of the most popular podcasts, which a special introductory offer. And it makes sense. They're selling downloadable MP3s that you can listen to on long trips, or a daily commute. Podcasts are downloadable MP3s that many people listen to on long trips, or daily commutes. Audible is simply connecting with their core customer base.

How many decision-makers at companies don't "get it?" And how many are therefore leaving money on the table?

So thanks again, Common Craft. I'll be using your video to help bring others into the fold -- both for personal and professional reasons!

- Ralph