The Jacobs Media Blog

I don't know about you, but this very public debacle between Leno, Conan, (Jimmy Fallon is in there somewhere) and NBC is fascinating – not just to the public, but those of us on the management side who go through similar personnel moves and strategizing on a regular basis. The surprise to me is just […]

This recession and the aftermath of its reverberations have taken a toll on a lot of businesses.  But there's no greater impact than the total demise of a brand, especially one that's been around for all of our lives. In 2009, brands like Pontiac, Gourmet, and Circuit City went under.  Recently, 24/7 Wall St. produced its […]

What do you do when you're in last place and you've already been humiliated in social media circles? You turn to customers for answers. At least that's the bold course of action being taken by Domino's as they try to improve their position on the pizza hierarchy.   It turns out that while Domino's was recently […]

What do you do when you're in last place and you've already been humiliated in social media circles? You turn to customers for answers. At least that's the bold course of action being taken by Domino's as they try to improve their position on the pizza hierarchy.   It turns out that while Domino's was recently […]

There's been lots of buzz about "crowd-sourced radio," another creative manifestation sweeping radio conversations these days.  In a recent Wall Street Journal article, both Jelli and LDR (Listener Driven Radio) were featured as next-generation radio services, utilizing listener input to program music. For decades – essentially all of our radio lives – music stations have […]

There's been lots of buzz about "crowd-sourced radio," another creative manifestation sweeping radio conversations these days.  In a recent Wall Street Journal article, both Jelli and LDR (Listener Driven Radio) were featured as next-generation radio services, utilizing listener input to program music. For decades – essentially all of our radio lives – music stations have […]

I remember September of 1969 very well.  It was the start of my sophomore year in college, and a group of us stood in a long line outside a record store at midnight in order to be one of the first to own Abbey Road.  What would you be willing to stand in a line […]

After a whirlwind three days at CES, Paul Jacobs is ready to return to snowy Detroit – but not before he offers up some final thoughts about this convention.  Follow his adventures through airport security on Twitter @pauljacobsmedia. Unfortunately, I have to leave this weather to head back to the Midwest later today.  When is […]

Paul had the difficult task of running around CES, scarfing up the newest in technology.  Armed with his Flip camera, he's been shooting some video, and taking copious notes.  Here's a blog post about Ford and its breakthrough SYNC system.  You can follow Paul this week on Twitter @pauljacobsmedia.  Alright, I admit it.  I'm from […]

If you talk to anyone who travels for a living, access to hi-speed Internet is one of the most important – and often frustrating – aspects of the on-the-road experience. And the crazy part is that the most expensive hotels – Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, and the like – universally charge for Internet access.  In some […]

If you talk to anyone who travels for a living, access to hi-speed Internet is one of the most important – and often frustrating – aspects of the on-the-road experience. And the crazy part is that the most expensive hotels – Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, and the like – universally charge for Internet access.  In some […]

Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer gave an excellent keynote presentation on last night at CES, demonstrating the broad footprint the company has across all digital platforms.  No longer just a mega-coroporation that sells Office or Explorer, they are now deeply into search (Bing), television (Microsoft Home) and gaming (X-Box 360). Despite the power/technical problem to start […]

Paul Jacobs drew the long straw and is reporting from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.  Here is the first of his reports.  You can follow him on Twitter, too – @pauljacobsmedia It’s opening night, and thousands of us are waiting for Steve Ballmer’s keynote:  First of all, I forgot how nice […]

Earlier this week, I was invited to speak to a radio class at Salem High School (Plymouth, MI).  It all came out of a recent blog post ("Michigan, Radio, & Youth" – 12/10/09) that spoke to the dual problems that my home state and our industry are facing in the area of attracting young people. […]

In our quest to keep moving the ball forward, it's critical to know where the proverbial puck is going, and how we'll be devising strategies around new media opportunities and challenges.  In this case, digital technology is at the intersection of where we've been and where we're headed, so there's no better place to experience […]

In our quest to keep moving the ball forward, it's critical to know where the proverbial puck is going, and how we'll be devising strategies around new media opportunities and challenges.  In this case, digital technology is at the intersection of where we've been and where we're headed, so there's no better place to experience […]

Thanks to all the commenters to last week's "Best of" posts.  KISW's B.J. Shea wrote the following response to our "What's Your New Plan B?" post. Fred, Great column today.  I don't profess to have all of the answers, but I do have some observations… radio, and other businesses don't seem to operate the way I run my […]

A new study from the Global Information Industry Center at the University of California, San Diego, has a lot to say about the old 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag analogy (if you'd excuse the expression).  In this case, the bag is our brain.  And this study is about just how much […]

  Jacobs Media wish that you have a fantastic 2010!!  JacoBLOG will return on Monday, January 4.

We sincerely wish all of our readers a safe, happy new year. 2009 was clearly "the year of hanging in there." Here's hoping that the new year has a more positive, forward-thinking  theme. Our blog will be back, bright and early on January 4th. Happy New Year from all of us at Jacobs Media.