It may not rise to the level of artistic or administrative innovation, but the ability to add cowbell and Christopher Walken to any audio file is certainly a welcome distraction from actual work. The on-line extension of the classic Saturday Night Live skit shows what a little software development talent and a lot of spare […]
An audience of three billion
Just about everyone will now stipulate that Internet connectivity has changed the way business works, the way culture works, and the way most social systems behave. But what might happen if we doubled or tripled the number of people on-line? According to author Tom Hayes (summarized by Michael Malone): …when the word’s entire labor force […]
Trumped by sports…again
Just as arts organizations are getting good at the economic impact arguments — that professional-grade culture revitalizes communities, spurs leisure spending on restaurants, hotels, and such, and bolsters the essential baby-sitter industry — professional sports teams are getting a new quiver for their bow: successful sports teams make people work harder, take bigger risks, and […]
You are what you listen to
An oddly broad-brushed research report out of Edinburgh makes the radical discovery that the type of music you like has some correlation to your personality. In what is claimed to be the largest such study ever undertaken, Professor Adrian North surveyed 36,000 people about their musical preference and their personality, then analyzed the resulting clusters. […]
Community-funded journalism
A new nonprofit initiative is exploring a different way of funding professional journalism from the traditional professional media company. Spot.us will accept story proposals from anyone, journalists included, post some of those story ideas for public consideration and contribution, and then hire a journalist to research and write the stories that get a critical mass […]
So small, so big
A fascinating science article in the New York Times describes new research that has recorded, for the first time, brain cells in the act of summoning a memory. The study confirms the current theory that the same cells that were active during the original experience are the ones that fire when that experience is recalled. […]
What are the ”proxy interests” of your potential audience?
I’ve been dabbling in Facebook recently for a number of reasons — primary among them is that my teenage daughter wanted an account, and I want to know the terrain of any place my kids choose to wander. Now, of course, I’m hooked. There are so many extraordinary aspects to these increasingly sophisticated social network […]
Even the ”offline” world is ”online”
Trendwatching.com suggests that the on-line world is now dominating our metaphors and expectations in the off-line world — with on-line symbols taking real-world form, make-it-yourself services entering real stores, on-line functions increasingly built into physical products, and off-line communications and marketing referencing on-line lingo. They offer some tips for doing business in this new reality, […]
Cash flow, or lack thereof
Texas Ballet Theater, along with many other arts nonprofits, is quickly discovering the difference between a balance sheet and a cash flow statement. The major ballet company finds itself $500,000 shy of the cash it needs to pay current debts, and $2 million short of its annual needs. Says board chairwoman Robin Arena: “Up until […]
Three questions for the CEO candidate
A friend and colleague once asked an arts consultant what qualities he found in demand by most CEO search committees. Here’s the gist of his response: Can you create and read a budget and then manage by it? Can you raise money? Can you make everyone act like they should? Financial dexterity, community connection, and […]
