Jun 28 2009
WWSW-FM (94.5) morning host JIm Merkel is marking 30 years on the air at the station.
\Merkel started out at WMBA-AM in Ambridge, and then moved to the former WJOI-FM before joining WWSW, where he has spent the past three decades. He started out on middays, and has been morning host since 1987.
On Monday, June 29, a special edition of the morning show will feature phone calls from celebs and others who have been on the show.
For more career highlights of this long-time local radio voice, visit the 3WS web site, which has captured an interesting slice of local radio history in its tribute to Merkel’s 30th.
There’s a photo gallery dating back to his days at WMBA. Other photos capture Merkel, along with former co-hosts Gary Dickson and Steve Hansen, in promotional and studio shots.
There are several videos, including TV interviews with Ken Rice and Liz Miles and station promos. In one promo, Merkel and Hansen dress up like the bands played on the station -- the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and most memorably, Sonny and Cher.
Jun 20 2009
The iPhone finally got Sirius this week, and vice versa.
iPhone and wireless-capable iPod Touch users can now download an application that lets them listen to their Sirius XM Satellite radio programming on the fly.
Now for the bad news. There are a few things missing from the Sirius lineup for iPhone. Like Howard Stern. Like the NFL Play-by-Play and MLB Play-by-Play and NASCAR channels. That is, many of the things that persuade people to plunk down $13 a month for a satellite radio subscription to begin with.
That said, despite all its financial woes, Sirius XM has some great music programming, and something for almost every taste. Making it accessible to people who don’t want to buy a satellite receiver, and who may already have an iPhone, is still a pretty good move. While an online-only subscription plan has been available, letting subscribers take it on the road with them makes the service more appealing.
For details on how to download the app -- which comes with a seven-day free trial -- go to the Sirius XM site.
Jun 18 2009
Those 30-second song samples you hear on iTunes and Amazon aren’t the best way to sell music downloads. That’s the conclusion of a study conducted by Robert Morris University’s School of Business.
The sound quality is usually lower on these samples, and the abbreviated clip is designed to discourage “free riders” from listening to the excerpt instead of buying a copy of the song.
But RMU assistant professors Yanbin Tu and Min Lu, who conducted the study, found that people who listened to longer samples with better sound were more likely to pay for a song download.
In a survey of 90 college students, they found that high quality samples –- either 60 seconds long or half the song –- were more appealing to prospective buyers than shorter ones. Students who listened to entire songs –- but at lower quality –- were more likely to listen to the song instead of buying it.
The study's findings “have significant implications for music retailers to use digital music sampling strategies better,” its authors say, especially when trying to market emerging artists. “Consumers bear a higher risk for products from lesser-known artists...Music retailers should put greater efforts to increase the effectiveness of online digital music sampling, especially for the music products by new artists.”
Their findings were published in the International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising.
This study inspires another thought: If online music retailers have to stick with the 30-second samples, which they probably will, couldn’t they at least edit them carefully to find the right 30 seconds? It’s hard enough to judge how good a song is from an arbitrary half-minute slice.
Jun 10 2009
When you’re handing out scads of awards, including a judge’s choice and people's choice award in each category, you have to keep those acceptance speeches real short. If they didn’t, the Webby Awards ceremony would go on several weeks.
The requisite five-word limit for Webby thank you speeches has become a highlight of the ceremony.
Monday night’s events had its share of terse gems, although it’s hard to top last year’s from Stephen Colbert [“Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”].
Newly minted “Late Night with” host Jimmy Fallon — 2009’s Webby Person of the Year — may have had the winner this time [“Thank God Conan got promoted.”]
Other celebrity recipients gave us these: Trent Reznor, who won Webby Artist of the Year for his innovative approach to online music distribution [“Wait, we didn’t charge anything?”]; film and video person of the year Seth MacFarlane [“What is this for again?”]; and outstanding comedic performance winner Lisa Kudrow [“Well thank you. Oh god.”]
Not to be outdone, other Web sites came up with these:
Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post, winner for best political blog [“I didn’t kill newspapers, ok?”]
TheAtlantic.com, winner for best magazine site [“Old dogs learning new tricks”]
The Nature Conservancy, winner for best charitable organization/nonprofit Web site [“Thanks, now save the planet.”]
Here’s the complete list. For videos, visit the Webby YouTube channel.
Jun 08 2009
Tonight is the 13th annual Webby Awards ceremony. OK, so we already know who won.
But it’s still worth checking out for those five-word acceptance speeches. Remember last year’s classic from Stephen Colbert, 2008’s Webby Person of the Year? [“Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”]
Internet pioneers for 2009 are: Trent Reznor, artist of the year; Jimmy Fallon, person of the year; Lisa Kudrow, outstanding comedic performance; Sarah Silverman, best actress; and Seth McFarlane, film and video person of the year.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, one of the pioneers behind the technology that created the World Wide Web, will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
And there are a slew of awards being handed out in these four categories: Web sites, interactive advertising, online film and video and mobile Web. Here’s a list of the 2009 winners.
The awards ceremony is June 8, 2009. There’s a YouTube channel devoted to the Webbys, which launches June 9. Or you can follow its progress via the usual suspects like Twitter and Facebook, as well as Tumblr and a Flickr photo stream.
Jun 01 2009
Social networking: it’s not just for humans anymore.
Take these recent posts: “Wink Penelope is my name! Food is my game!”
Or this one, from aliG: “Traumatic day yesterday. Had to get nails trimmed!!!”
These are shout-outs from the pet world on MyDogSpace and MyCatSpace, two social networking sites where people can post pictures and profiles of their pets.
Neither site is affiliated with MySpace. But both are structured like and inspired by it, with canine and feline profiles and photos, plus videos and blogs. Sections called Meows and Barks read like a quadruped version of Twitter.
And they’ve managed to monetize this project, with pet supplies advertising from Wal-Mart and Orvis, ads for kitty litter and the online single pet owners dating service Date My Pet.