It's Not Only About Booksellers and Fish

Do you know what this image by Pieter Bruegel (the elder)...

 has to do with this company?

Maybe there's a digital brewer in our future.

You've Got Fail

Something dawned on us this weekend while driving through a large northshore shopping area.  We saw yet another huge yellow "CLOSING" banner on a large Borders Books store, one of the hundreds being closed as part of the company's bankruptcy filing.  

It made us think how things have changed since 1998 when Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks starred in the movie, You've Got Mail.  

As other ODs will remember, the story related the face off between a small intimate book shop and a massive impersonal chainstore.  Typically bittersweet, while Fox & Sons Books (the mega chain) handily dispatches The Shop Around the Corner, the two owners ultimately become an item.  Good ending for romantics -- Not so great for small business owners. 

What dawned on OD was the renewed poignancy of this movie, and we envisioned a possible remake.  The new movie's title could be "Retributive Justice" and would star Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com) and another Meg, Meg Whitman (formerly of eBay and Half.com).  The plot line here would be how on line booksellers push bricks-and-mortar chains out of business and steal their customers.  The cost and inventory advantages of the digital stores is simply too great.  As if that weren't enough, the exponential growth of e-books entirely eliminates the need for conventional bookstores.

But there is also a subplot creating a twist to this story.  While on line booksellers thrive at the expense of Borders and Barnes & Noble, small intimate focussed bookstores may be exhibiting a renaissance.

Old Dogs are finding that the intimate bookstores of their youth, once the victims of mega stores, are beginning to regain some lost ground, filling a niche in the market.  

Small bookstores are at a distinct disadvantage when comparing breadth of offerings or cost advantages.  However, they offer a number of economic characteristics that have been identified as ways to effectively compete in the expanding e-commerce world.

Kevin Kelly, a founder and former executive editor of Wired magazine has written about certain services for which vendors can charge and customers will pay in an internet world where much is exchanged for free.  Kelly explains, "A generative value is a quality or attribute that must be generated, grown, cultivated, nurtured. A generative thing can not be copied, cloned, faked, replicated, counterfeited, or reproduced. It is generated uniquely, in place, over time. In the digital arena, generative qualities add value to free copies, and therefore are something that can be sold."

Kelly lists the 8 generatives as:  Immediacy, Personalization, Interpretation, Authenticity, Accessibility, Embodiment, Patronage, and Findability.  While not equally valued by consumers, each trait offers something that is, as Kelly puts it, better than free.  Maybe boutique bookstores will once again find commercial support due to the generatives they can uniquely provide. 

One other interesting observation was triggered specifically by the movie title, "You've Got Mail."  Where is AOL headed these days?  The questionable logic of their most-recent acquisition of Huffington Post appears almost straw clutching.  Writing about the future of this once-powerful service, one critic stated, "You've got irrelevancy."

On that note we close with a poem learned in our youth that seems to resonate today.

OMG's now in the OED!

Announcement in this morning's news:  The one hundred twenty-six year-old Oxford English Dictionary just added a host of popular texting initialisms, including OMG, LOL, and FYI, to their august collection of "authorized" words.  

This is not the first time the OED has caved to an assault on the English language.  The walls had already been breached by their embracing IMHO (In My Humble Opinion), TMI (Too Much Information), and BFF (Best Friends Forever).

They also added "Muffin Top" to the dictionary.  Gracious!  OD will reserve his thoughts on this questionable decision as well as the OED's earlier inclusion of "frenemy" and "bromance".

How far we've come from those Halcyon Days recounted in Simon Winchester's The Surgeon of Crowthorne.

The madman remains, but the scholarship fades.

OD wonders whether the addition of WTF is not far behind.

Who is this Girl, and Why Should I Care?

She's Rebecca Black, and thanks to social media, she has gone from obscurity to becoming something of a global sensation in the last 2 weeks.

This OD came across Rebecca Black earlier this week on Twitter.  It was and remains one of Twitter's top global hashtags. (OD+NT will offer more on tagging and hashtags in a later post, but CCs, Curious Cats, can go here for an introduction.)

Rebecca Black is a 13 year old tween from Anaheim, CA who, with the help of LA record company, Ark Music Factory, recorded a song entitled, "Friday," which is about hanging out with friends and looking forward to the weekend.

Nothing unusual about that, you say, and OD says, "Stick around."

Rebecca Black's video was shot at her father's house this January then edited and uploaded onto YouTube on February 11, 2011.  In the first month "Friday" was viewed about 3,000 times.  That's not a bad reception, but still nothing interesting.  

But wait, it gets better.

On March 11th, Daniel Tosh of the Comedy Central series, "Tosh.O", posted the "Friday" music video on his blog under the title, "Songwriting Isn't For Everyone."  Tosh wasn't necessarily slamming Miss Black's talent so much as poking fun at the song's absurd lyrics.  Tosh.O's blog offers the following dialogue:

Rebecca Black: "Are you sure these are the lyrics you want me to sing?"

Producer: "What are you talking about?"

Rebecca Black: "This part where I just kinda slowly explain the ordering of the days of the week?"

Producer: "That's the hook, baby!  We breakin' it down for the kids!  They gonna know those days!!"

But other Old Dogs should judge for themselves.  Here's the video in question:

Then something began to happen.  During the next week, this video got 18 million hits on YouTube.  

Then, in the next week the number roughly doubles.  As OD is writing, the YouTube tally stands at 38 million!  That's right.  Rebecca Black's "Friday" is one of YouTube's all time top streams.  

With this much attention, people must love the song.  NO WAY!  YouTube's rating survey shows roughly 8.5 people dislike this video for every 1 who likes it!   There seems to be a full spate of negative comments about the song and the video on the web, but there are also some admirers. 

Music idol, Lady Gaga, has come out as a fan of Rebecca Black despite the fact that "Friday" has now gotten more YouTube views than LG's newest hit, "Born This Way."  (Lady Gaga's video might be too much for ODs.  This link is for reference purposes only.)

Then last evening, Black was Jay Leno's guest and performed her song on The Tonight Show.  Hey, wasn't last night a school night?

So, the real question is, "What makes this girl famous and this song go viral?"   

The answer to that question is way above this OD's pay grade!

Mossy Oak vs Fig Leaf

In an MSNBC blog last week, Technology correspondent Bob Sullivan posted an article entitled, "Why should I care about digital privacy?"  Click here to read more on this topic.

WHAT POSE ARE YOU TAKING? 

This one...

Or this one...

ODs would be well served to take a moment and read this informative piece.

Moron [sic] Twitter

As commented yesterday, one's Tweets hang out in the internet wind.

Sometimes that can come back to bite you where it hurts...like your wallet.

Today, we ask the question, “What do these two Twerps* have in common?”

That’s a rhetorical question, NOT another quiz.

The answer is...

Untempered Tweets cost these two Twittering Twerps* their jobs.

Paraphrasing Syrus's adage, “I often regret my Tweets, rarely my silence.”

But then again, Charlie Sheen now has 2.8 million devoted followers on Twitter.

And Gilbert Gottfried has, well, a DUCK.

We're impressed. Aren't you?

What was that line of PT Barnum’s about something being born every minute?

At what point should, "ENOUGH," be said?

* “Twerp” is our own acronym for “Twitterers WE would Rather Pass-by”

Twittering Old Dogs

Encouraged by a team of young experts, I have begun using Twitter.

Candidly, I'm not sure about it yet.

Sometimes I wonder if ODs like me are missing something. Then I realize that kids today are maybe a bit too attached to their computers and iPhones, constantly texting each other. Maybe separation anxiety for them is truly a problem of major proportions!

But loads of people Tweet. Hell, even President Obama does it, so what are ODs missing?

Let's see if we can gain some perspective.

What's the difference between emails and Tweets?

Well, both are for communication, but email is distributed to an individual or a designated group of recipients. There is a modicum of privacy in email, excepting in brokerage houses and banks! Tweets are different in that they are posted for everyone to see. There's no privacy on Twitter. What you say is hanging out there in the breeze.

In comparative terms, if a written letter is a brick colonial, then email is sort of like a mobile home. Carrying the analogy a bit further, and using a visual representation, Twitter is more like this...

To coin a phrase, "It's the same, but different." On Twitter everyone's messages reside on the same plot of internet real estate.

Nonetheless, one can't deny that this social network resonates with a large block of humanity.

Started just 5 years ago this month, Twitter now boasts over 190 million (and 1, counting me) accounts . Estimates suggest that users generate over 65 million tweets per day.

Let’s put that figure into context.

About 65 million minutes is roughly 130 years.

So, 65 million minutes ago it was 1881, and Edison’s electric light bulb was introduced.

James A. Garfield was assassinated and Chester A. Arthur succeeded him. (Neither Tweeted).

The Barnum & Bailey Circus debuted, and the American Red Cross was founded.

Pablo Picasso was born and Benjamin Disraeli died about then.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert and Holmes meets Watson for the first time in 1881.

And a very famous gun fight broke out in Tombstone, Arizona just about 65 million minutes ago.

Maybe some ODs like me will be pushed onto Twitter. I suspect, however, that for many other ODs, Tweets will continue to be something they only recognize in field sports.

Blog Tricks

Gary Larsen is spot on but with a twist in today's world.

When hearing about BLOGs and BLOGGING, ODs ("Old Dogs") mostly hear static interference.

Here's the secret: It's actually not so complicated!

We can all learn Blog Tricks! STAY! STAY! STAY!

Maybe your first question is, "Why should I comment on a blog post?"

And this OD's reason is quite simple: BECAUSE YOU CAN!

Why be silent when barking at the blog is so much more rewarding!

Today's easy lesson is HOW DO I COMMENT ON A BLOG POST?

I learned two weeks ago, and it actually has been FUN.

An annoying comment of mine actually instigated a blog argument!

It's quite satisfying to bark loud and long from time to time.

So here's what I have to share with other ODs:

1. You've identified a blog posting that is interesting or annoying.

2. Look for something with the word, "COMMENT".

3. Sometimes there's a box (see below) in which you type comments.

4. Once completed just click "POST COMMENT" or similar button.

5. No box? No sweat. Click on something that says "COMMENT" and see what comes up.

6. Sometimes you might be asked to enter your gmail address and password.

(Don't worry, it's all legitimate.)

7. In other cases they might just ask for your name and email address.

(Why do they want this info? It discourages nut cases from posting comments.)

8. Hit "SUBMIT" and you've had your say.

Woof! Woof!

What we don't know CAN hurt us!

WARNING:

INAPPROPRIATE FOR THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 35

If you've reached this website in error, please exit now.

Finally, we've decided that enough's enough.

We need a place where old dogs ("ODs") like us can collaborate to get a grip on today's new technologies ("NTs").

I'm no techie, but I'm willing to share the stuff I've learned and am learning with others like us.

How about you? Here's your chance to gain techno-wisdom and help others do the same.

Wouldn't you like a chance to hold your own in a conversation (verbal or text) with your progeny? Wouldn't it shock and awe your family if you went alone to BestBuy and bought a "killer" laptop or got an iPad and knew all the really cool new apps?

That's what OD+NT is all about.

We named this blog "NewFleas" for two reasons:

1. We're seeking remedies for itching situations.

2. A derelict blogger already took the name for his site years ago.

Why do we need OD+NT?

We face a plague of technological locusts, to wit...

Why should I or should I NOT have a Facebook page?

What's the deal with Twitter, anyhow?

Does LinkedIn really offer something for us?

Digg? What the devil is it, and why should I care?

Why do I need a 3G (or even 4G) enabled laptop if it's got WIFI?

For that matter, do I really need WIFI?

Or how about all the acronyms and initialisms?

Sure, you know CD and DVD and PC, and you might have a passing knowledge of CAD/CAM and AI.

How about HTML or XML or HTTP or RSS?

You probably see these every day.

What do BTW and OMG and LMAO and GGP mean?

(The last is socially inappropriate but physiologically on target!)

Remember SWAK? Bet you haven't used that in 35 years!

I'll bet the last time you tried to get a simple answer about this stuff from the younger generation you felt like you had two heads. Am I right?

Want some retributive justice?

Ask someone under 35 what this is and see what they say!

The kids don't know everything.

That's precisely the problem.

Nobody will give you exasperated looks and/or comments when you come to OD+NT with issues.

Just because you aren't on top of this stuff doesn't mean you're stupid.

We just need to have our own empathetic forum.

That's what NewFleas and OD+NT are all about!

Welcome to a new age-appropriate collaborative world!