marketing

Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Gives Country a Black Eye

Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Gives Country a Black Eye:

“Try That in a Small Town” was risible enough as a single, but in case anything about its lunkheaded songwriting felt like it was left as subtext and not made explicit, Aldean has released a music video for the rising hit. It, too, is in the business of handing out black eyes… to country music, that is, much more than any imagined invaders.

The setting, outside the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, has proven upsetting for some who know or learn the history of the building. It’s where, in 1927, a white lynch mob dragged a young man named Henry Choate through the streets behind a car before finally hanging him from a second-story courthouse window. Let’s give Aldean and video director Shaun Silva the benefit of the doubt and assume they had not indulged in a history lesson when they decided the same frontage where a Black man was murdered in front of a crowd would be a good place to alternate projected footage of protesters being put down with a draped American flag. (Hard to blame anyone for thinking that this history did show up in Aldean’s or the filmmakers’ web search on the location, but imagining that they knew that and proceeded anyway, as a known dog whistle, is… just tough to contemplate.)

[I think Dave said it better here…

They want to go back to when they could kill anyone with impunity. And btw, it doesn’t matter if he “really” believes it or if it’s a business model. It makes absolutely no difference. Someone should teach these pitiful spineless so-called reporters how and why to be angry. BTW, I live in a small town so fuck you Jason Aldean.

]

Hunting of the Snark

Hunting of the Snark:

So I’d think twice about deciding your online persona is “righteous asshole.” If it seems like a good idea, think two more times. You are not speaking truth to power. It is not a litmus test for determining your true friends. You are not guaranteed that only the “right” people will be pissed off. And you will build an audience that rewards you for being unkind—which makes it all too easy to cross lines you shouldn’t. When you get called on it, it’s too late to rip off your asshole mask and protest that’s not who you really are.

[Smack on.]

Thinking Clearly About Piece-Work

Thinking Clearly About Piece-Work:

Now according to classic economic theory, these changes wouldn’t just be details of style, but would increase the size of the overall pie. And, on the squishy side, they’d provide much greater scope for human freedom. Assuming I was guaranteed a decent wage either way, I’d far rather be able to stay up late working one night in exchange for blowing off work the next. Not to mention getting to work the hours I want, from the place I want, in the way I want, etc.

[I’ve nothing to add. Just a fairly explanation of the possibilities.]

Source: Aaron Swartz: The Weblog

Music Lessons (that work for publishing, too) – The Domino Project

Music Lessons (that work for publishing, too) – The Domino Project:

  1. The new thing is never as good as the old thing, at least right now.
  2. Past performance is no guarantee of future success
  3. Copy protection in a digital age is a pipe dream
  4. Interactivity can’t be copied
  5. Permission is the asset of the future
  6. A frightened consumer is not a happy consumer.
  7. This is a big one: The best time to change your business model is while you still have momentum.
  8. Remember the Bob Dylan rule: it’s not just a record, it’s a movement.
  9. Don’t panic when the new business model isn’t as ‘clean’ as the old one
  10. Read the writing on the wall.
  11. Don’t abandon the Long Tail
  12. Understand the power of  digital
  13. Celebrity is underrated
  14. Value is created when you go from many to few, and vice versa

[Go read the whole thing, because a lot of this applies to everyone.]

Dr.Brendan | The iphone Doc

Dr.Brendan | The iphone Doc:

During the short visit at our apartment, I learned that Dr.Brendan since has moved his business out of his living-room and opened two stores. And not only that, he has a whole army employees and they now also fix Macs. I was thrilled to hear that as my 2.5 year old iMac at work was giving me a hard time. Tony, a Dr.Brendan employee, came to promptly pick it up the next day and conveniently brought it back a few days later, fixed. Pick-up and drop-off? Yes, please!

Dr.Brendan and his team not only fix iPhones but now also repair pretty much any Apple device, do data recovery, help you set up your network and much more.

I can’t praise Brendan and his team enough. Go check out his site. And if you live either in the East Village or Park Slope, drop by their shop. And no worries, if you don’t live in NYC, you can ship your patient to Dr.Brendan.

[Cool story.]

Source: swissmiss

Next Phase of Commercials

Next Phase of Commercials:

I predict that in a few years from now we’ll start to see 4.5-minute length commercial shorts that come after the extended-play version. Or maybe even “directors’ cut” versions. These outright unabashed commercials will run as long as a pop hit tune, and in format resemble a music video. We’ll see YouTube-ish channels that will charge you to watch them. I make this forecast based on the fact that this prime attention-niche is just one adjacent-possible step away.

[I rate this a very likely.]

Source: The Technium