“My passion is to create visuals and sound scenes that take you on the spot with a band or an era.”—Michele Myers

MCDM’s Emerging series continues with an interview with Michele Myers, Producer of KEXP documentaries. KEXP’s current ten-part radio documentary, Blues For Hard Times, features UW Music History professor Larry Starr. Past documentary series, from Portraits of Post-Punk to Pop Goes Electronic to Civil Rights Songs, have covered a wide range of musical genres.

The interview with Michele Myers will be streamed on the MCDM Livestream Channel. Tune in on Friday, March 12, 2010 at 12:00 P.M. (PST).

About KEXP

KEXP Documentaries

The money quote from Hal Varian’s presentation to the Federal Trade Commission, according to TechCrunch, was this: “newspapers have never made much money from news.”

But for me, the kicker is this data point from slide #3:

Subscriptions account for 3% of revenue on average

Read more…

The other day I received an email appeal from Free Press, “a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to reform the media,” to urge the FCC to end unreasonable penalties for switching cell phone providers or cancelling service.

Free Press’ mobile phone campaigns fly under a “Free My Phone” banner and feature a cell phone angelically equipped with white wings. For this specific campaign, though, the phone has been retouched with an angry facial expression and the indecorous exclamation “ETF, WTF?” The ETF stands for the “early termination fees” charged by cell phone carriers. And you know what the WTF stands for.

Free Press is fuming that “carriers still force us to pay outrageous penalties — up to $350 — if we cancel our phone service or switch carriers. There’s one question on everyone’s mind: WTF?” (Not everyone may phrase it that way, but it’s certainly a good question why termination fees are so high. After all, if you want to cancel your cable service, providers don’t hit you with exorbitant fees.)

Apparently, the FCC is asking the same question (though, perhaps, without the “WTF?”) Read more…

To support disaster relief efforts after this morning’s magnitude-8.8 earthquake in Chile, the Mobile Giving Foundation has announced the following text donation campaigns:

Text the word “CHILE” to 25383 to donate $10 (Habitat for Humanity)

Text the word “CHILE”  to 20222 to donate $10 (World Vision)

Text the word “CHILE” to 52000 to donate $10 (Salvation Army)

Text the word “YOUTH” to 20222 to donate $10 (UNICEF)

100% of your donation goes to the recipient charity, and the donation appears as a charge on your carrier bill, standard rates may apply. Additional campaigns will be announced here.

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/todosnuestrosmuertos/

Related on Flipthemedia.com: Startup City: Mobile Giving Foundation

I’ve been thinking about business models for online content (text and images), given Apple’s introduction of the iPad and Amazon’s infamous battle with Macmillan. I’ve argued that digital subscriptions should be less than their analog counterparts, basing my argument in large part on the fact that traditional print is vastly more expensive than digital distribution.

I’ve been wrong. At least in the short run. Read more…

I wasn’t too concerned about missing the Opening Ceremonies from the Vancouver Winter Olympics, as I figured I could catch it online afterward.  NBC was keen to showcase its cool new Silverlight plug-in by streaming a considerable amount of the Beijing games in 2008.

But when I tried to watch Part 1 of the Opening Ceremonies, up came this message, along with a sign-in screen:

“You have selected a premium video (e.g. live stream or full-event replay).” Read more…

NBC Uses Facebook Connect As An Exclusive Login

I won’t be commenting on any NBC Olympics blog posts, or giving them a thumbs-up. That’s because the only option for commenting voting is Facebook Connect.

Unlike the federal government, which has also privileged Facebook Connect upon occasion, NBC is a corporation. It has no “taxpayer public interest” that should mandate the option of an open — non-proprietary, non-commercial — platform such as OpenID. But it should have advocates on its web dev staff who can convince their bosses that consumer choice in matters like this is in the corporation’s best interest. Read more…

Zynga Homepage

According to my Facebook News Feed, we are facing an agricultural crisis: I have more than 20 friends whose FarmVille crops need fertilizer. However, since FarmVille’s debut last June, the popular Facebook application has done more than flood my feed with farm-related requests. It has enabled its creator, Zynga, to reportedly rake in more than $200 million in 2009. But how can such revenues be possible if social gaming is supposed to be free? The answer lies in the sale of virtual goods and the games’ use of compulsion loops.

In social games, users are encouraged to enhance their farms or strengthen their mafias through the purchase of virtual goods. These can include fanciful structures (Ferris wheels), seasonal items (mistletoe-shooters) or tools (tractors) that enrich gameplay. Such goods allow users to customize their profiles, advance more quickly in the game or “keep up” with other players. In short, virtual goods are a graphic extension of common user behaviors such as self-expression or competitiveness.

Read more…