jacoBLOG

You know the feeling – you may live in a lovely home or condo, but there’s that moment when you walk in the place and it just looks a little tired.  The familiarity is comforting, but the look and feel has become just a bit dated. And so it is with our tech and entertainment lives.  I […]

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Whether you were running around the cavernous halls of the Rosen Shingle Resort hotel last week in Orlando or you simply read about the 2013 Radio Show in the trades or in yesterday’s post from Lori Lewis, I’m betting that if I asked you about the main takeaways of the conference, two things would come to […]

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Sometimes, reading coverage about Apple is like watching MSNBC or Fox News – you have to wonder whether you’re really getting the news, or simply watching stories through a very skewed lens. And so it often is when you read news and analysis about Apple.  The brand continues to have its fans, but the detractors are […]

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Edison Research president, Larry Rosin, has been an avid reader and a contributor to our blog.  As Larry explains in today’s guest post, his ’97 landmark at-work study had a profound influence on our company and our clients  His new study is must-reading for everyone in radio.  He’ll be presenting it at The Radio Show today.  […]

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I know that many of you are reading this while at The Radio Show this week in Orlando.  I arrived yesterday, the hotel is packed, and spirits seem very high.  And all of us at Jacobs Media and jacAPPS are looking forward to seeing you there. Our “Radio & The Connected Car” session is set this morning. […]

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Seriously, it was actually 30 years ago at the NAB Radio Show in 1983 in San Francisco. I did what would now be called a “soft launch.”  In the ‘80s, that meant rushing to print out business cards, grabbing a plane, and sleeping on the floor of Tom Bender’s room at the St. Francis Hotel at […]

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The radio business continues to grapple with the challenges ahead.   And as time marches on, the bedfellows are getting stranger as new alliances form. Yesterday’s announcement about the Cumulus/Rdio deal is another case in point.  Somehow, the once-evil Internet is now becoming part of the broadcast weaponry.  This is yet another step that brings broadcasters and […]

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It’s pronounced like bacon but is spelled “bacn,” and it’s defined as email that is just to the positive side of spam – all that electronic mail we somehow ended up signing up for but don’t pay much (if any) attention to. This frequently happens when you make a purchase from a retailer.  You end up checking off a box […]

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If you’re of the Jewish faith, you get to say “Happy New Year” twice a year.  Of course, the universal moment occurs when we all stop to watch the ball drop in Times Square as (now) Ryan Seacrest provides the countdown and the “drama.” But the other occurs every fall on a different day each year when […]

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How are recommendations changing the way consumers embrace products and brands?  Today, Mike Stern takes a wizened look at the power of crowd-sourcing and what it means to radio. – FJ The simple fact is we live in a crowd-sourced world.  Whether it’s which tablet to buy, movie to see or restaurant to patronize, we […]

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If there was any question in your mind about smartphones having altered the human brain and the way business gets done, look no further than Senator John McCain’s “gotcha” moment during last week’s Syria hearings. Caught in the act of playing poker on his iPhone, McCain could only try to laugh off the incident, but […]

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The NAB RAB Radio Show is next week and I’m looking forward to seeing many of you there.  At this 2013 convention, there are some strong panels, keynotes, and events, including a Super Session featuring former jocks (not DJs, but athletes) who have made it on the radio (Bobby Hebert and Amani Toomer each of whom excelled for teams […]

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It’s just a couple of weeks before this year’s NAB RAB Radio Show in Orlando. At this year’s convention, there are some great panels, keynotes, and events, including a Super Session featuring former jocks who have made it on the radio (Bobby Hebert and Amani Toomer have each excelled in the Great Lakes State), a […]

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Can you say déjà vu? Way back in the mid-‘80s when I got Classic Rock going in markets from Los Angeles to Chicago to Detroit to D.C., the death knell for the format came quickly.  For most Classic Rock startups at that time, the run-up was spectacular – and quick.  But oftentimes, in just a […]

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It’s interesting that the old AT&T “Reach out and touch someone” slogan still resonates today. In this post, Bill Jacobs takes a moment out of his busy schedule to implore DJs, shows, and hosts to do the same thing for fans.   As our world becomes more impersonal, these hi-touch moments take on even greater importance.  Read on. […]

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OK, I’ll say it – Rock ‘n’ Roll needs Miley Cyrus. Or someone who is outrageous, ridiculous, fun, and willing to pretty much do and say anything. When the best thing a musical genre has going for it is the news that 70 year-old Paul McCartney plans to continue touring, that’s a definite message about […]

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In just a couple of short weeks, Jacobs Media will turn 30 years old (more on this self-celebratory event in a future JacoBLOG post). And as a reluctant entrepreneur back in the early ’80s, I now enjoy reading the advice of other successful start-up mavens. What did they do that I didn’t?  What did I […]

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