History of rock 'n roll, sort of

This is a bit off topic but I feel compelled to give a mention of a new book: Clark Weber's Rock and Roll Radio: The Fun Years, 1955-1975. (Click here for link to the book.)

I mention this not just because I was cited in the preface (although that was certainly nice) but also because Clark is my father in law. Every time I visit him I learn something new about the early years of rock and roll as well as Chicago radio. During my annual visits I also enjoy rummaging around the basement looking at photos of him with countless famous acts including the Monkees, Beatles and Sonny and Cher.

(My children's favorite story is about the detective from Gary, Indiana who came to Chicago one day with his boys in tow and asked Clark, then a DJ, to hear his boys sing. Clark wasn't too impressed but apparently the rest of the world saw things differently and the Jackson Five did just fine without my father in law's endorsement.)

It's also fascinating to talk to Clark about the changing landscape of radio. You would expect someone of his age to rue all the changes of late. Not so. Clark is endlessly fascinated by the world of Ipods, Internet and a world where media companies no longer control the pipeline. (I just handed Clark a copy of Chris Anderson's book, The Long Tail, which he is devouring.) He's even entered the world of blogs. (If you have any complaints about the blog, blame me. I talked him into it.)

If you get a chance, read the book. I think you will enjoy it.

Tracking Twitter and FriendFeed

For the past few months I have been trying to find a Twitter/FriendFeed client that allows me to monitor both feeds, send updates and eliminate duplicates. AlertThingy is my latest attempt and so far so good.

It's still a bit erratic but not sure if that's Twitter (a distinct possibility) or the client. It's also not very rich in features (or help files) but since it serves its primary purpose I am reasonably happy.

Getting others to do the work

Steve Hamm, a senior writer for BusinessWeek, is writing a book and he wants your help. Much has been written about collaboration so it's nice to see it in action.

The book, The Race for Perfect, is about the quest to design the perfect portable computer. Steve has put Chapters 2 and 10 online for others to help with.

Here's Steve's overview of the book:

My book, The Race for Perfect: Inside the Quest to Design the Ultimate Portable Computer, is in part a popular history of portable computing. (The other element is a blow-by-blow chronicle of designers, engineers, and marketers at Lenovo conceiving and designing the ThinkPad X300 and bringing it to market.) The saga begins with Alan Kay's original concept of portable computing, in the fall of 1968, and continues through the luggables, the laptops, the handhelds, the smartphones, and the latest concepts for mobile computing devices in mid-2008, when the book will be published by McGraw-Hill. I interviewed dozens of portable computing pioneers when I was researching the book, and I packed many of their stories into its pages. But there were many people who played roles in this history that I didn't speak to and many threads of the story that I didn't have time to explore. With this wiki I aim to do two things. First, I'm offering up two of the key chapters of the book for people to read. Hopefully, you'll find them entertaining or instructive, or both. Second, I want to invite others to submit their own recollections and observations. Hopefully, if others participate, this can become a living word organism. So, please, if you want to comment, start a thread. If you want to submit pieces of history (or photos) please send me an e-mail (to stevehamm31@hotmail.com) and I'll post your contributions. Please tell me who you are, and how you know what you know, and make sure I get a working e-mail address.

(Click here to access the chapters. You will need to request permission to edit.)

Who's watching the watchdogs?

Recently, at work, a group of us had an interesting discussion about the Internet, the demise of newspapers and the future of democracy.

Sounds like a lot but the discussion focused on the future of newspapers. If they are to die, and we all agreed they are dying quickly, who will be the watchdogs?

One group argued that newspapers protect us against corruption, evil, etc. The other group (myself included) argued that it didn't matter. The world has changed, we argued, and it's easier for average citizens to broadcast and uncover corruption.

In the end we agreed to disagree. Afterwards I came across a column by Jon Fine of BusinessWeek. (Click here for full column.)

The column is mostly about the Newseum in Washington, D.C. However, Jon makes a good point, relevant to my work discussion:

Its placement on such an august stretch of D.C. real estate implicitly puts the news biz in league with the powers it's supposed to remain skeptical of, though anyone who has suffered through government-journalist group gropes such as the White House Correspondents' Dinner knows how uncomfortably close those teams are in real life.

Good point. Seems that the institutions we hold up to be the watchdogs aren't always as pure as we'd like them to be. It's always struck me that the most prominent journalists we supposedly look up to are also part of the group we're trying to keep an eye on.

Chicago Mac -- 100th running

I can't let today go by without acknowledging tomorrow's start of the 100th running of the Chicago Mac. A lot has been written about this but suffice to say it is truly unique. Unlike many other distance races this is one people do not miss. The entire sailing season in the Midwest revolves around this 333-mile race and for good reason.

There some great stuff out there on the race but I suggest the videos recounting past races. Some rich history there. (Click here.)

Caution: Lawyers involved

Recently I received, as a birthday present, a nice t shirt which included the lat/lon of the town I live in. It's a nice gift with a nautical theme that I like a lot.

The best part was the "disclaimer" that was stuck on the shirt, obviously a pointed poke at companies run by lawyers who insist on putting warnings, no matter how absurd, on anything they sell.

Why newspapers are where they are today

Bob Lefsetz, a former music industry executive who rants on about his former industry and its inability to accept change, recently commented on the newspaper industry. (Click here for full post. Thanks to Mark Potts for the link.)

Bob is a fan of Sam Zell and Lee Abrams and many of his points have been repeated elsewhere. But the great line of his post in response to newspaper executives tired of the new regime:

If those running the newspapers were so damn smart, they wouldn’t be in this predicament.