Sometimes Wired Has Me Worried

I like Wired Magazine and sing its praises often on this blog; but the most recent edition had me asking questions. The most recent issue has all the usual interesting information that drives me to the publication. The latest gadgets, the hottest trends, and the most important personalities. But there was also an article about Hans Reiser that threw me for a loop.

Hans Reiser is a mega geek who was once known as a "Linux visionary" who was noted for adding new innovations to the technology. Now he is accused of having something to do with the disappearance of his Russian mail order bride, Nina (photo). The beautiful obstetrician disappeared on September 23, 2006 and signs seem to point to Hans' possible doing and he stands accused of being involved in such.

I found myself reading the story, though it seemed a little odd for Wired Magazine. If it wasn't for the fact that Reiser was a some what well known geek, it would have nothing to do with Wired. It is true that the article brought in interesting insights about Reiser's contributions to the IT field in general and Linux in particular, but this article was really designed for a tabloid such as US Magazine, or something like that. It wasn't "Wired material" in my opinion. The funny thing, out of many article options, I chose to read it, which tells me a couple things about why it was in Wired:

* People like dirty laundry about others and this article was full of it.

* People are interested in bad news. Bad news, I'm afraid, sells.

* Even in an IT magazine, people are still more interesting than things.

Wired has plenty of technology issues that it could focus on, but chose to include a piece on something like this. This was done, not because of a dearth in information, but because bad news on people sells.

Spending a Little Time in Tomorrow

I can't believe I'm admitting it, but Wired Magazine is quickly becoming one of my favorite magazines. I never fancied myself as a "computer geek" and wired is much more than the official handbook for that crowd. Wired Magazine is actually a sneak peak into the future.

In recent months I read an excellent article about how Rupert Murdoch is changing the world of information through Internet acquisitions. I also picked up on a concept called "Crowdsourcing" that is going to impact the world in a manner similar to globalization in the 1990s. And I also read about the eventual death of newspapers and how they will be replaced with cheap digital screens that can be rolled up and put in one's back pocket. From it one would be able to read up to the minute news from around the world online. Good bye newspapers.

"Wired" is much more than a tribute to the elements inside of technology. Wired asks the question, am I "wired" into what is going on today and am informed about tomorrow? Wired keeps me connected to now and the rapidly changing tomorrow. It is must reading to everyone, regardless of what they do for a living.

Who is That on the Cover of My Wired?

I am a regular reader of Wired Magazine and often find myself devouring it cover to cover. This month's issue had, of all things, Martha Stewart on the cover making a Wii Cake. I felt a little weezy about this, for some reason. On the cover of Reformed Prisoners Anonymous, maybe, but Wired? Even with an edible video game seemed strange.

I will say that she "graces" the cover of one of my favorite theme issues -- "How To." And although I have yet to dive in, I'm very interested in many of the topics:

"Land a Fat Raise"

"Rule the Blogosphere" (of particular interest)

"Take Killer Digpics" (what are those?)

"Outsmart a Mechanic"

"Snag a Cell Phone Deal"

"Weasel Free Drinks"

"Keep Batteries Charged"

"Email Like a Pro"

"Get Fired Properly"

And, of course, "Bake a Wii Cake"

I'm sure I will enjoy it and find useful, but Martha Stewart of Wired Magazine. Weird.

The Bright Future Through the Eyes of Wired

Any reader of this blog knows my thoughts about Wired Magazine. It offers very optimistic insights into the future and helps readers to best prepare for that future than any magazine on the market today, in my opinion. It isn't always done through powerful and persuasive articles (although there are plenty of them), but even through a simple picture like the one in this post. I apologize for the size, but you need it large in order to truly appreciate it.

If you look closely you will find:

Patient: Maggie Bond
Tumor Ex 30MG
Tablet
Take one tablet by mouth 3X daily for treatment of lung cancer. Tumor should disappear by day 20.

It goes on to mention quantities, the doctor, refills, etc. The date? 1/18/14. Right around the corner. Although this is fiction, I believe that the dramatic changes going on in medicine today supports such optimism.

Everything we read and hear shows that cancer is on decline, even as people are living longer than ever and we have our largest population in history. Furthermore, the treatments are becoming less invasive and with more dramatic results.

Sure, at this point, this is wishful thinking. But it is the type of optimism grounded in fact. This epitomizes the style of Wired Magazine. That is why it is one of the only magazines I literally wait for with great anticipation. This feature is called "Artifacts from the Future", which is a reoccurring theme in the publication. This picture speaks a thousand very optimistic words and offers hope and excitement about the future. That is also what Wired Magazine does for its readers each month. At $10 a year for 12 issues, it is a very wise investment.

Geekipedia from Wired Magazine

I just got my new Wired Magazine (which, for some odd reason gets to my house about a week after it hits the newsstand -- a source of irritation to me) and it included a supplement called "Geekipedia." This glossy magazine is, essentially, a glossary of all the neat terms that the modern geek should know today.

I'm a little afraid to talk about it. Some of these items, I'm sure, are common knowledge to many. But at the risk of looking stupid, here are a few things I discovered.

* There is a Fake Steve Jobs (see video). There is some guy on the Internet that tells people how Jobs really feels about the latest technology. He is not nearly as polite as the real Steve Jobs.

* This guide includes the best summary of energy alternatives I have seen yet, including liquefied coal and the subtle difference between cellulosic ethanol and corn-based ethanol. This is a great source that includes why an energy could be the source of the future and why it may not make it.

* Web 3.0. This concept is still somewhat nebulous and I notice that the Geekipedia is refraining from going into detail on the subject, but it is one more concept that everyone will be talking about in no time. Many have just finally figured out Web 2.0!

I enjoyed my guide and it makes me wonder how I got by without it. However, in a few months, Web 3.0 will be solidly defined, but I won't know it from this magazine. Furthermore, there will be numerous new terms added. It makes one ask the question, why even make a print edition of the wild world of geek language? Wouldn't it be easier to make it purely online?

Houston's Movers and Shakers

The most interesting part of my business is the people I get to meet. In the last couple of weeks I've dined with some movers and shakers in business, and had coffee with a local TV celebrity.

I am amazed at the depth of talent that is right here in the Houston area and I expect to see all of these people taking on a larger stage over time.

Ed Schipul is one of the leading authorities on Internet marketing both in Houston and around the country. He has seen his business grow exponentially over the last few years. I personally have seen his business grow both in reputation and in size. Recently, he and I had lunch in anticipation of a speaking event that both of our organizations are participating in. Ed is a combination of professor and kid with a new toy. He's the kind of teacher we all wish we had at school. Every time I meet with him, I regret that the length between meetings always seems so long. Ed knows it all and shared it liberally (though he never acts like a "know it all). Rarely does a sentence go by without him saying "Did you know..." and most of the time, I didn't. Furthermore he is always interested in helping people get together with others. He likes to make connections. He's generous with his relationships and that is why people are generous with him. We talked about Rupert Murdoch and his dramatic move towards the Internet (at the tune of $1.5 billion), which further validates the power of this media. (For a great article on this subject see the story about Murdoch in the latest Wired Magazine). He also told me about blogger program I need to review (you will see it soon, I'm sure), and we discussed the enormous growth of his Tendenci software which is changing the way organizations manage and promote their membership. Ed is a young man in a hurry. I am keeping an eye out for him in Wired Magazine or maybe even Forbes.

James Stein is one of the most enjoyable people I know in business and is the consummate small town banker with big city skills. I believe he can handle any deal of any size, but do it while making you feel like you are dealing with a friendly neighbor. Jim has a passion for politics and loves to discuss such, he loves his business and his clients. I have only had the opportunity to visit with him a few times, but he seems like an old friend. He's an incredible negotiator, making the difficult to receive, some how very acceptable. He is passionate about what he does and is one person who is doing exactly what he should be doing for a living, in my opinion. If you are looking for a banker, you would serve yourself well by visiting with James Stein and the Bank of Houston.

Darian Ward is well known by Houstonians as the former reporter and weekend anchor for Fox News. She is now working on a national reality TV show and we grabbed coffee recently at a local Starbucks. Ward is articulate, intelligent, and attractive. The networks would do well in bringing her to a larger audience. She is in negotiations with a number of large networks so don't be surprised to see her again on TV soon.

Philip O'Hara and John Holchin of DirectoryOne.com and I have been talking about a few projects that have resulted in several meetings. Like Schipul, DirectoryOne is a leader in web marketing and is ranked number one by the Houston Business Journal. Phil and John are two very different personalities. Phil is some what distracted and is always really for the next business meeting. He has a huge passion for what he does. John and Phil seem, on the outside, like oil and water, they are different in their politics, personalities, and styles. Yet, they seem like a perfect compliment to each other and their different style makes for a great team. That's one of the most important lessons I've learned in business, find the necessary people to help you get your business goals completed, regardless of how odd that team may appear to others.

In the weeks to come I'll be writing more about some of the personalities that make Houston such a great place to do business.

ABC Taking Geico Caveman Prime Time?

It's true, ABC seems very interested in having a series based around the character in the quite famous Geico TV commercials. I say "real" TV series (with quotation marks), because the commercials already are just that -- a series of commercials with an actual storyline (one of the reasons the network became so interested in it). They are a mini TV series. All ABC will do is make them an actual show with a little less product placement.

I have been impressed by these commercials for quite some time and commented on them weeks ago. They are important to the world of advertising because they recognize one of the biggest challenges facing sales and marketing today -- how do you keep the consumer's interest? The era of the same old commercial -- regardless of how cute, clever, or even sexy -- being enough for the viewer to take notice is over. In the future, commercials will look like actual programming.

In the March Issue of Wired Magazine the cover story is about our "snack culture" in which individuals want small pieces of entertainment that they can consume quickly and then move on to other items. This lends very well to the Internet and to companies smart enough to take an advertising approach like Geico. These cavemen commercials are revolutionary today, I predict they will be common place tomorrow.

In the Future, Not All New Media Will Be Short

I have noticed that most of the videos and audios you find online are typically very short. I've been told by media experts that the magic number is four minutes. "More than four and the viewer gets bored." This had something to do, I'm sure, with the time restrictions placed by YouTube. Wired Magazine says we live in a "snack culture" that simply doesn't want to consume anything of substance when it comes to media.

Others argue that four is too many. There is the "One Minute How To" (designed to explain how to do something), the "One Minute Tip" (on technology), the "Sixty Second Investor" and many more. The assumption is that people simply are not going to spend that much time on a single video. It is the ADHD frenzy that is pervasive in online.

I personally believe this is about to change and the new International CES validates that assumption. This electronic expo is demonstrating numerous devices that make the link between the computer and the TV is becoming much more narrow. Soon, we will all be able to simply transmit what we want to watch from our computer to the TV. If we watch online programming on our TV and continue to emphasize short programs, we will have to do a great deal of work just developing a program line up.

I envision the growth of programming that will especially for the Internet. Weekly series that our 30 minutes or an hour long. Netflix, which has movies available online that most are watching on their computers, will become increasingly more relevent as people find it easier to transfer the images on a TV screen.

Eventually the web will cover the whole scope of media in terms of size and type. I also believe that TV will become a mere display tool, but the real media will be the Internet itself.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Conservative Bloggers Fight Back

The conservative movement has successfully dominated the radio air waves since the 1980s. While much of the country had written off the AM dial, talking heads like Rush Limbaugh were just about to fire those dying stations up during the Reagan years. The result is Right wing dominance of this media. Talk radio's success and value to conservatives was driven by the fact that the mainstream media had largely become elite and hostile to conservative values. Talk radio was listener driven (through callers) and changed the way people got their information.

Fast forward fifteen years ago and you have a new player on the media scene, which is blogging and it is starting to dominate its industry. For some reason, liberals embraced this vehicle as a tool for change and for quite some time they have been the leader. Conservatives have found themselves limping along. I'm sure that there are multiple more liberal bloggers for each Conservative.

The problem isn't merely in numbers, but infrastructure. The left has developed support mechanisms, liberal organizations recognized bloggers as media long before conservatives, and their web platforms are far more numerous and sophisticated.

Positive changes are on the way, however, and are seen on a micro level at the 2008 Texas Republican Convention. For one thing, the party itself made it easier to for bloggers to get media credentials than in any time in the past. Unfortunately those credentials may become devalued over time if "anyone" can get them. I am sure more vetting will need to take place over time as the number of bloggers grow, but erring on the side of generosity of credentials simply makes sense at this time.

More exciting than a friendly environment for bloggers is the efforts of the Texas office of Americans for Prosperity in developing RightOnline.com. This will be more than another blog, because its unique state focus will help bloggers fight their battles on several government levels. The site and project are early in their progress, but I hope that it breaks down categories in a way RedState.com does, but includes a section for states and even regions. In addition to that, the organization created a "media room" at the recent convention (actually a very elaborate booth) where boggers were provided wired work stations surrounding an attractive stage where elected officials and candidates could be interviewed by the bloggers. It included an excellent PA system, video cameras and the videos from the conferences will show up on YouTube.com. A large screen TV makes it for an even more "polished" event. I will have a slide show about it in the next few days.

The organization is planning an event for conservative bloggers that is designed to help them improve their craft in Austin, Texas on July 18th and 19th and its list of speakers is most impressive. The event seems to be designed to be both informational and inspirational and speakers include conservative writer Michelle Malkin, former Maryland Republican Governer Michael Steele, Erick Erickson of Redstate.com, and many others. You can get more information about it at RightOnline.com.

According to recent surveys on marketing, most advertising attracts sellers (others who want you to buy more ads) and not buyers. Do you want to know why? Email info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing audio" in the subject line and we will get it to you.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Sarah Palin's rise raises Questions about Conservative Women

Sarah Palin is all the rage as she promotes her new book, Going Rogue: An American Life. She was a conservative darling before she wrote the book and all the more so now that this book is being promoted by the former governor and GOP nominee for Vice President.

Columnist Jedediah Bila pointed out in a recent article that Palin's book conveys the qualities that made her a star in the 2008 Presidential campaign, noting "Palin almost immediately establishes herself as someone who reveres the ideals that she cherishes most — her faith, her family, and her liberty — but who also has a pungent distaste for the hypocrisy of the political machine: 'But it seemed that every level of government I encountered was paralyzed by the same politics-as-usual system. I wasn't wired to play that game' (5). She later echoes a kindred reflection: '...I had to live with my own conscience, so I voted according to my principles and let the chips fall where they may' (66). Palin pledges allegiance to her convictions and both the Alaska and United States constitutions, but not to her party, narrating several instances when she confronted GOP waste and corruption, choosing instead to side with her self-proclaimed 'commonsense conservatism': 'At the time, both parties, nationally and locally, were spending uncontrollably. No wonder voters couldn't tell Republicans from Democrats'" (146).

In spite of the fact her messaged resonated so clearly with many Americans and some could argue that she nearly pulled the McCain campaign out of the jaws of defeat, I believe that Palin and other women and minorities face a serious handicap when running for national office. That handicap is the mainstream media.

I have been arguing in my column, in interviews, and on my radio program, that the mainstream media will do everything in its power to prevent a conservative female or minority from being elected to national office. The left has believed that minorities and women would have no political power without the liberal agendas of the past. The left wants to keep these groups on an ideological plantation, with women and minorities marching in lockstep. I assume the progressives don't realize that the idea behind giving these groups their freedom was to empower them to be able to disagree with their agenda. That is, after all, what freedom is about.

Many on both the left and right disagree. They point out people like Bay Buchanan, who has enjoyed a successful career as a political consultant; yet she has never faced the scrutiny of the election process. To me, she is a weak argument.

Another popular example is Elizabeth Dole. There is no doubt about it; Dole has had an impressive career. Former Secretary of Labor, former Secretary of Transportation, and an US Senator, Dole has certainly had a career filled with accomplishments. Unfortunately, these individuals are missing the point. You can point to many successful conservative females in politics, but we only have one that was on a national ticket and that was Sarah Palin. Now Dole has run for national office, but had little to show for it. She was an interesting novelty, but not a serious candidate by any measure.

The only way to test my thesis is to apply it only to female candidates who have actually had the nomination for national office. Enter Sarah Palin. Palin was literally butchered by the mainstream media by every measure. The thought of Palin as Vice President provided nightmares to the left and to the media that largely supports a liberal agenda. Attention women and minorities, if you are serious about national office, you better be prepared to worship at the alter that "got you there." Other wise, we better be prepared to change the way the media looks at women and minorities.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.