Life and living

Something occurred to me today in that odd way that ideas just all of a sudden appear in one’s brain.  It’s one of those weird thoughts that often times I just dismiss, ignore, or sometimes play out, only to realize later that it’s just a bunch of crap.

There’s all this reporting lately of the demise of big media – that the internet is killing establishments like The New York Times or NBC.  More specifically, that giving away their content for free on the internet was a bad business move and is destroyed their underlying business.

I’m not a fan of that perspective – I feel like a lot of content has already been ‘free’ – over-the-air TV and Radio, and even the nominal fee for a daily newspaper hardly covers the production costs.  They’ve been supported by advertising and my feeling is that they’ve got to figure out a way to make advertising work online.

So the idea today starts with this: It’s the low-cost barrier that the internet has enabled that is destroying old media – YouTube vs. NBC; blogs vs. New York Times.  This idea isn’t new and I believe it’s accurate.  People are more interested in the varying content online, and specifically they’re able to match content to their particular world-view better than they could with any of the large nation-wide media companies.

But here’s what hit me today: Advertisers are in the same boat as the old media companies.  Coca-cola is trying to reach a national audience (world-wide audience actually) and it’s going to get tougher and tougher to cater their message to the more and more niche markets represented by online media.  This represents an opportunity for local products to compete with their national/global competitors in the same way that local media now has the opportunity to compete with their national competitors.

Could we see the return of regional products like soda and beer? Restaurants & clothiers?  That prospect interests me – as one who likes to travel one of the aspects I enjoy is how different the world can be the further one gets from home – could it be that traveling to the next state over could be as it once was?  Will we see the products and services breaking into smaller regional offerings?

I’ve had a few recent conversations (online and off) about podcasts.  I’m a big fan of the format since unlike more visual mediums like text or video they’re perfect for when you’re on the go: in cars, trains, walking, etc.,).  This got me to thinking that I really should get around to writing down the list that I have on my iTunes.

I have a couple of basic categories:

News/Current events, etc.,

• Fresh Air – Great interviews.  I usually listen to each episode though I’ll sometimes skip some of the entertainment personalities.
• Commonwealth Club of California – interesting speakers, though not as reliably great as some other podcasts, I appreciate the format and the many of the guests.  I’ll usually skip over at least 1/3 of these if not more

Entertainment

• NPRs This American Life – Ira Glass’ great audio production of interesting non-fiction (mostly) stories.
• WNYCs Radio Lab – dumbing down science so that anyone can enjoy it, layered with elaborate audio production
• The Sound of Young America – enjoyable pop culture interviews by America’s radio sweetheart right out of his LA apartment
• NPRs Car Talk – click and clack every week.  I don’t often listen to these but they’re good to have on the ipod when you’re in the mood
• SFMOMA Artcasts – This I have to enhance my museum membership but the postings are sporadic and only occasionally useful/interesting

Photography related

• Jeff Curto’s Camera Position – Early episodes discussed why certain decisions were made while composing images.  Lately this has become less frequent and more about the overall process of defining ones approach to photography projects
• LensWork – thoughts about the creative aspect of image making.  Usually short, and so easily digestible when you’re almost at your destination but just need a few more minutes.
• Martin Bailey Photography – A Brit in Japan who works in technology by day but photography on the side.  His technical descriptions are easy for anyone to digest, I enjoy this one for the embedded images and the inspiration it provides to just go out and shoot and follow through with your projects.
• Nikonians The Image Doctors – usually gear talk focused on Nikons but sometime other topics as well.
• Lightroom for Digital Photographers – short tutorials on Lightroom features
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips – short tutorials on Lightroom features
• Photoshop for Digital Photographers – short tutorials on Photoshop features

So that’s the list on my computer (most of which get sync’d to my ipod/iphone.  Speaking of which – one aspect of the iphone I love?  The 2x setting.  Some of these podcasts (Nikonians, Lenswork, Martin Bailey) are easily consumed at twice the normal speed allowing me to pack in more listening.  Others (Terry Gross, Ira Glass) I prefer to listen to in real time.

I’m curious to hear what others are listening to as I’m always on the look out for good content.

They say don’t sweat the small stuff.  And that’s pretty true.

But at the same time, sometimes the small things (in a positive way) can make a difference.  Just as you should not let the small annoyances bring you down, you should let the small things pick you up.

Like changing the batteries in the car remote.

Wow.  What a difference!

Happy new year.

It is so easy these days to consume information – there’s of course the older mediums of books and newspapers; as well as movies, radio and tv; and now the newer internet-enabled delivery of this type of content – blogs instead of magazines, podcasts instead of talk radio, youtube instead of movies (or streaming feature length films instead of heading to the video store or theater), digital cable with the hundreds of channels instead of a few over-the-air.

But as the access to consume this content has gotten easier, so too has the access to produce it.  Digital cameras, still or video (although the differentiators between those devises are disappearing more and more every day) along with FaceBook or other sharing sites make it possible for anyone to easily publish imagery to share.  Sharing written content is even easier to do (though that doesn’t speak to the need to have something meaningful to say..)

And so I often find myself sitting down to watch tv, read something on the computer, etc., wondering whether I shouldn’t spend more time contributing.  As I read blog posts or view photos that others have created, I wonder whether I shouldn’t be spending that time creating my own work to share, rather than simply consuming others’ work.  Which is not to say that there’s not value in consuming what others have created – there’s a lot to be learned out there – it’s more just a recognition that at some point, you’ve consumed enough and it’s time to give back.

I guess these thoughts are stronger now, as I’ve got this backlog of photos that I want to get around to posting, as well as a few thoughts that I’ve been stirring around with writing about.  That plus the ‘season of giving’ and all makes me think about what it means to give instead of take.

But it’s more than that – I also think about what FaceBook or Twitter means to me – and what I like about those services – and inevitably it comes down to people who take the time to produce – whether it’s thoughts, photos, videos – or even sharing a link to a funny or topical piece that someone else has created – it’s when others are generating content for me to consume, that’s when I appreciate those services.  Which inspires me to be one of the people who creates value in those communities, rather than one who just checks in and reads what others have produced for them.

This past month as I’ve been preoccupied with lots of other ‘off-line’ activities I haven’t produced much and I’ve found myself consuming more.  But as I’ve said, I’ve got a backlog that I hope to share in the coming weeks.  If only I could get through all of my podcast listening and blog reading..

Well, I’m back home and done (finally!) with thanksgiving turkey (though there’s a lot of soup in the freezer) and so now it’s back to reality. Time to find a new job and prepare for the coming of another year.

I’ve got a lot of photos that I need to upload .. but it’s going to take me a while.  I’ve got a lot of processing to do – trying to winnow the digital pile down to a meaningful amount that people will find interesting.

And even thought the holidays are once again upon us, I still need to spend some time on the job search.  The savings can only last so long, after all.

Yesterday i was doing a little product research on something I wanted to buy.  I looked at a couple of the reliable online sites to understand the models out there and the general pricing.

Then, while at lunch, I visited a nearby store that sold the product at 150% of the online price.  Needless to say, I didn’t buy it.

Returning back online, I found an online retailer with a brick & mortar location here in San Francisco with a great price.  So after work I made my way over to the store only to find that their price was too at the 50% markup.  What gives?

I talked to one of the sales reps at the store who informed me that they couldn’t match the online price (the registers would blow up was the phrasing he chose) but that I should remember that online charges shipping (and since they have a local presence, sales tax too).

I went home and bought it online.

I don’t understand a company that won’t:

1. have consistent pricing.  OK, fine, I get that it costs money to have that item on display in San Francisco instead of in a warehouse in Nevada (or wherever) so I understand that you need to charge a markup so..
2. meet internet pricing when asked – at least for the savvy shopper, allow for some flexibility in pricing at the register.  If not, at the very least..
3. have a reasonable markup for the convenience.  Charge a reasonable (10%) markup for the convenience of walking out of the store right then and there with the product instead of having to wait for UPS.

The idea that this store wanted to charge me 50% more for that convenience was ridiculous.

With more and more information literally at peoples’ fingertips (think iphone) the idea that you can count on the un-informed shopper stumbling into your shop and unknowingly spending a 50% markup has got to be short-lived.

Doesn’t it?