Does the Music Industry Have it Backward?

Raghuram Iyengar, a marketing professor at Wharton, suggests that the music industry would be much better off if they embraced the pay-per-song model and (get this) actually lower the price per song to be closer to 30 to 40 cents each.

His research shows that consumers would buy significantly more songs at a lower price point. So many more in that that profits would be significantly higher. I wonder if the big labels are listening?

Earthquake's Epicenter?: Twitter

I listened to a fascinating discussion the other day on NPR regarding newly-found scientific uses of crowd-sourced data.

First, my pseudo-definition of crowd-sourcing:

- taking little bits of information from lots of individuals and smart devices, piecing it all together, and using the resulting set of data to make intelligent decisions.

One of the major crowd-sourcing developments is tracking earthquakes on Twitter. Scientists found that although not as accurate as seismographs, mining Twitter for specific keywords and phrases allow them to more quickly determine an earthquake's epicenter and magnitude. And I bet you thought Twitter was useless.

More crowd-sourcing action:

1. Google mines GPS-enabled phones for speed and computes road congestion

2. Google has helped the CDC track flu outbreaks faster than ever by combining search phrases with their geographic origin

Retirement?

What do you think, time to retire the blog? I haven't posted in over 6 months now. I'm pretty sure that means my blog is dead.

Or maybe I should just rehash it so it prominently shows a combo of Twitter & Flickr? Is anybody out there? Just nod if you can hear me.

Bing

Wow, I've been majorly slacking on my blog posts (or complete lack thereof) lately.

In case you haven't heard (you will soon, trust me), check out Bing. It's Microsoft's latest attempt to take on Google.

My first impressions? It's sort of like Word or Excel - lots of "features" that sound great, but in reality 90% of people won't use them.

Google is simple, and people get simple. I'm willing to bet people won't be saying "just bing it" anytime soon.

Box Tops for Education + The Big Clip = Lots of Opportunity for Schools

One of the favorite things about my current job (Web Geek for General Mills) is the ability to discuss my consumer-facing work with family and friends and get direct feedback from them. I have a few friends that are teachers, and from time to time we'll chat about Box Tops for Education. I'll gain interesting insights like the coolness factor of collecting Box Tops and how it corresponds to age.

Speaking of Box Tops, I'm really exicted to see how The Big Clip will come to fruition in the local grocery stores this summer. There will be a big Bonus Box Tops sweepstakes (you can sign up now to be reminded once it starts), and I'd bet lots of great in-store deals to be had as well.

If you clip Box Tops from your favorite cereals, brownies, and Ziploc baggies -- that's great -- keep it up. But did you know you can easily earn money for your school by using the BTFE.com website? Next time you shop online at Gap or Barnes & Nobles, swing by BTFE.com first, and you can earn money for your school. No gimmicks, no catches.

Check it out and support your school.

Chat on the Web - Quick and Easy

Chatting (instant-messaging) on the web just got a whole lot easier. No need to worry about signing up for anything or installing any applications.

1. Visit TinyChat.com
2. Click the "Create your room" button
3. Copy the URL they show you
4. Send this URL to friend(s)
5. Give yourself a nickname
6. Start chatting

No signing up. No registering. No worrying about cross-application compatibility. Just chat. Who would have thought?

Indecisive + Photography = Your Opinion

If there's one thing I've learned from photography, it's that everyone has different tastes. I might consider discarding a shot, only to find out that it's someone's favorite of the set.

I don't think art should be made to please others, but it helps if you ever want to sell it. I'm not there yet (against Addie's & Anders's best attempts), but wouldn't mind to make a penny or two someday.

So I'm curious. Which of these is your fav? (click on the image, then choose "All Sizes" to see it large)

Stone Arch I

Stone Arch II

Stone Arch III

Stone Arch IV

Stone Arch V