TV is still relevant? Yes!
I've noticed recently that several people have been proclaiming how TV Ad revenue is falling a lot, and that TV is very quickly going the way of newspapers. I've tried to explain that this couldn't be further from the truth, and that of any "old media" medium, TV has a big opportunity for at least a few decades before it takes a hit like news papers. I don't doubt that TV will change a lot, and have been preaching that for years (I even left the TV industry, for the digital media biz because I felt that strongly about it). But VH1 is just one small example of a channel that has captured a niche that is on the "other" side of the digital divide, has money, and matters - as opposed to MTV who didn't handle the digital transition well, and lost an audience.
In this 3 minute Ad Age video, Crown Media CEO Henry Schleiff reminds us that it's the Babyboomers who are watching more TV than anyone else. Using TV ads for branding (making impressions on young kids so they remain loyal forever) isn't the solution anymore. Use TV ads to drive sales, not impressions - and with Babyboomers, the formula isn't the same.
Seems like it's just a wakeup call - not that we need to definitely do things differently - but at the very least, don't be lazy. Reevaluate what we hold to be true, and if it's still relevant great - but be ready to make big changes if evidence confirms what the guts of youngins like myself tell us is true.
Enjoy!
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on May 26, 2009 at 5/26/2009 03:10:00 PM.
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Siloed Sciences
I just read this great post on my friend Noah Brier's blog, and it got me thinking...
A generally tangential thought - the way Strogatz starts his article kinda baffles me, "unlike Olivia and the previous guest writers, I’m not a biologist, evolutionary or otherwise. In fact, I’m (gasp!) a mathematician."
Why is strange for a mathematician to comment about science? And further, why is it that the various sciences silo themselves? Why does it continue to be an anomaly for different disciplines to team up on a proect and render a brilliant result?
I remember in High School and at NYU not understanding why there wasn't more of an explicit effort to teach science (including math) and art at the same time. The connections are uncanny. Understanding how lenses on film cameras work requires a solid understanding of math and physics. Yet as a student at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, in the film program, I wasn't required to take one math class in order to earn a BFA. How is that possible?
Strogatz's disclaimer reminds me of this TED talk where, "Emily Oster re-examines the stats on AIDS in Africa from an economic perspective and reaches a stunning conclusion: Everything we know about the spread of HIV on the continent is wrong."
Apparently economists and virologists don't talk much.
Taking this another step, I think the reason for my concern above is similar to the Dark Data Wired talks about in this article both Noah and I referenced recently...
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on at 5/26/2009 12:42:00 AM.
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Letter to the Editor
I recently read this article in the Economist, and was compelled to write this letter to the editor:
SIR - I applaud your recent article, "Catheter and Mouse" (published 7th May, 2009) where you note the "greatest gain" will come from the requirement that researchers share negative results. The scientific community has historically been loathe to share results of studies that don't confirm their hypotheses. The Journal of Negative Results in Biomedicine, founded in 1999, was a small step towards encouraging change in a culture set on burying research that doesn't prove a scientist's hypothesis to be correct. But maybe the new EU law (if passed) will be the big push that's needed to remind researchers that all data collected is useful and valuable to humanity. With the data crunching capabilites available today, our problem isn't how to crunch data, but rather ensuring we have large enough data sets to make accurate conclusions. Curbing pain and death among animals by requiring the distribution of all research results is a noble cause. But we musn't forget that we could also curb the death of many human beings if the data of failed experiments was required to be openly shared. I dare say my own country should follow the EU's lead and consider requiring the release of negative results of any experiment using even $1 of public funds.
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I was inspired in part by this article from Wired, published back in Sept. '07.
Labels: science
This entry was posted
on May 13, 2009 at 5/13/2009 01:23:00 AM.
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Sudanese in Israel
While the title of this article may be accurate, it misses some great / uplifting elements of an otherwise good article. While Darfuris, Southern Sudanese, and Eritreans aren't "welcomed with open arms" they are finding refuge in Israel, and this article is a huge credit to the amazing communitiy in Tel-Aviv that has gone to great lengths to help the refugees.
As part of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) - and our responsibility to ensure "never again" is applied to everyone, not just Jews - I agree with the author that the Israeli government should have a more positive / helpful approach towards refugees fleeing repression (and even genocide) in their own country.
Labels: Darfur Sudan Genocide Israel "Human Rights" "Tikkun Olam" responsibility
This entry was posted
on May 3, 2009 at 5/03/2009 05:12:00 PM.
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